RE: Workstation Screensaver Lock Timeouts

["frcmsec" <frcmsec () terra es>]

ONLY IN A HIGH-LEVEL SECURITY ENVIROMENT::

You have a screensaver lock to protect your data. If you leave alone
somebody in the middle of your office...

I don’t know about a norm. There are guidelines, but not norms (I
suppose, :) ). I would instruct your users about the usual methods of
social engineering, to make them work for the security of all. Think
about one thing: if they are all in the same office, they all have the
same "level of access" (clearance, or whatever you say) to the data, so
there is no need of screensaver; if there is somebody in the office, I
suppose he/she/it(??) would have the same level of access to the data;
if not, he/she/it would not be there.

An admin, a good admin, is really paranoid. The users, no. In a
restricted environment, trust is one of the ways to secure the data (of
course, if you are paranoid, 1 minute would be fine, but be prepared for
the shouts of your users...).

Francisco Cortiñas
CCNP, MCSE, MCDBA

-----Mensaje original-----
De: saliskor () cyberus ca [mailto:saliskor () cyberus ca] 
Enviado el: viernes, 26 de marzo de 2004 14:31
Para: security-basics () securityfocus com
Asunto: Workstation Screensaver Lock Timeouts



The security policy at one of my clients dictates that all workstations
will activate password protected screensavers after a period of user
inactivity.  The policy does not state what the timeout period is, in
order to allow the organization some flexibility.

My questions are:

Is there an industry norm for the timeout? What timeout do you think is
appropriate for a medium security enterprise such as Military
(unclassified workstations) law enforcement, Law offices, Financial
institutions, etc. The building is physically secure, although members
of the public, clients, etc are allowed access with loose escort, and
may or may not be left alone in an area for short periods.

Any opinions or suggestions are appreciated.

Rick 

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