July 1, 2022

PowerShell guidance from the NSA

The National Security Agency (NSA), along with authorities from New Zealand and the United Kingdom, have released a joint Cybersecurity Information Sheet (CIS) on security practices for using Microsoft PowerShell. The information sheet provides recommendations for proper configuration and monitoring with the use of capabilities and features such as PowerShell remoting and remoting over SSH, Deep Script Block Logging (DSBL) and module logging, and Over-the-Shoulder (OTS) transcription. These recommendations are intended to help system administrators and other IT staff members detect and prevent abuse by adversaries, while enabling legitimate use.

The table below is included in the CIS to help administrators quickly view which features are included in various PowerShell versions.

References

Cybersecurity Information Sheet:

Keeping PowerShell: Measures to Use and Embrace

SANS Month of PowerShell blog series:

https://www.sans.org/blog/getting-started-with-powershell/

bleepingcomputer:

NSA shares tips on securing Windows devices with PowerShell

Microsoft PowerShell lets you track Windows Registry changes

Microsoft:

What is PowerShell?

PowerShell Support Lifecycle

Differences Between PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7.x

Presentation at PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2018: