Introduction The Department of Defense (DOD) has several departments within the agency that companies will need to work with in order to carry out the terms of their contracts. When considering technology specifically, the DOD has the following departments ready to assist companies: Information Assurance Support Environment, Defense Information Systems Agency, Defense Technology Security Administration, Defense Cyber Crime Center, Defense Technical Information Center, and possibly others that were not immediately obvious (U.S. Department of Defense, 2015).
The Information Assurance Support Environment produces Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) for various computer topics, which can be utilized by companies who wish to do business with the DOD. These guides serve as a baseline for the company in regards to the technology specifications they should have in place in order to lock down their systems and network to make them less vulnerable to malicious attacks (Defense Information Systems Agency, 2015). Among these STIGs is one written specifically for the Windows 8 / 8.1 operating system (Information Assurance Support Environment, 2015). This STIG outlines some of the changes made by Microsoft to Windows 8 / 8.1 as well as their recommendations for securing computers, which use that operating system.
Tools
Windows 8 / 8.1 comes with many tools built into it that allow for the administrator to use in order to do a security audit. A keyboard shortcut of pressing the Windows key plus another key will often bring up a tool for the administrator to use such as Win + x which lists numerous tools including, but not limited to: * Programs and Features * Event Viewer * System * Device Manager * Computer Management * Command Prompt (Admin) * Control Panel * File Explorer
Win + c will bring up the charms bar which includes: * Search * Devices * Settings
The Computer Management Console is used to view or configure a variety of system related features for the local computer such as shared folders, local users and groups, and services among other things. It is also the home of the Microsoft Management Console, which provides for a framework for system configuration tools for Windows (Microsoft, 2015).
The security options file (sceregvl.inf) needs to be updated to include additional security checks that are not visible in policies by default. DISA provides a copy of the updated security options file with the Windows STIG on the website when you download the STIG (Information Assurance Support Environment, 2015). The administrator will need to load the file according to the instructions provided by IASE.
Once the security options file has been updated, then an analysis can be performed with the security configuration and analysis snap-in of the Microsoft Management Console. The STIG details these instructions into an easy to follow format. The snap-in allows for blocking users from accessing files they shouldn’t be accessing, or blocking access to the network, and secure workstation settings among other settings (Sheesley, 2002).
Another tool that is available is the DumpSec tool. This is an application that allows the user to systematically review the ACL, audit and user information from the local system. The tool is not included with Windows, but can be downloaded from SystemTools Software, Inc (www.systemtools.com) and IASE website under the Windows Support Files at http://iase.disa.mil/stigs/os/windows/support_files.html.
DumpSec will run and generate a report, which can be copied to another program such as a spreadsheet for analysis. The tool can check for UserNames, SID, PswdRequired, PswdExpires, PswdLastSetTime, LastLogonTime, AcctDisabled, and Groups information.
Microsoft also makes available for download a Group Policy Management Console MMC Snap-in that will combine the features of a Resultant Set of Policy (RSoP) MMC Snap-in and a Group Policy Object Editor into one. The RSoP MMC allows for the administrator to determine what policies must be changed or fixed that is causing a problem on the system.
Conclusion
Windows 8 / 8.1 is the newest operating system from Microsoft. It is a different interface from previous versions of Windows, and there are some changes to the back-end of it as well that mean managing things differently in terms of security. However, Microsoft has provided administrators with the tools necessary for securing the operating system. The DOD through DISA’s work has outlined those tools provided by Microsoft for making sure that Windows 8 / 8.1 systems are secure from most malware attacks.

Works Cited
Defense Information Systems Agency. (2015). Security Technical Implementation Guides. Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://iase.disa.mil/stigs/Pages/index.aspx
Information Assurance Support Environment. (2015, January 23). Windows A To Z. Retrieved Feburary 8, 2015, from IASE Operating Systems - Windows A To Z: http://iase.disa.mil/stigs/Documents/U_Windows_8_V1R8_STIG.zip
Microsoft. (2015). Microsoft Management Console. Retrieved February 8, 2015, from https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb742441.aspx
Sheesley, J. (2002, February 28). Analyze your server's security with Security Configuration and Analysis Snap-in. Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.techrepublic.com/article/analyze-your-servers-security-with-the-security-configuration-and-analysis-snap-in/
U.S. Department of Defense. (2015). Department of Defense Websites. Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.defense.gov/registeredsites/RegisteredSites.aspx