Which deployment principle includes secure defaults, patching, configuration hardening, least privilege, logging, and monitoring?

• A. Skip patching.
• B. Disable logging.
• C. Use default passwords.
• D. Use secure defaults, enforce patching and configuration hardening, implement least privilege, robust logging, and ongoing monitoring.

Answer: (D)

Secure deployments hinge on building a strong security baseline and ongoing maintenance. This principle brings together secure defaults, patching, configuration hardening, least privilege, logging, and monitoring to create a defensible deployment model. Secure defaults reduce the attack surface from the start, while timely patching fixes known vulnerabilities. Configuration hardening eliminates unnecessary features and weak configurations, and enforcing least privilege limits access to only what is needed, reducing potential impact. Robust logging and continuous monitoring provide visibility, detect intrusions, and support rapid response. Taken together, these practices form a coherent deployment approach that emphasizes prevention, visibility, and resilience. Skipping patching leaves vulnerabilities open; turning off logging removes visibility and threat detection; using default passwords is a dangerous practice.