SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATING SECURITY CONFIGURATION STANDARDS ASSESSMENTS AND MITIGATIONS

A system and method for determining a point in time compliance status of a computing system with a security guideline standard (SGS) wherein the computing system has a command line shell available through a native operating system, the method comprising inputting into a host computer of the computing system a SGS package that represents a scripted SGS that is a non-text file and is encrypted that provides instructions for an evaluation of a computing system's compliance with the SGS under consideration wherein the SGS package performs at least a portion of an automated evaluation of a compliance status at the point in time of the computing system under consideration when the SGS package is decrypted by the computing system; sending a command query from the decrypted SGS package to the selected device of the computer system; compiling in a locally hosted database of the host computer compliance results sent from the selected device of the computing system in response to the command query from the decrypted SGS package that is applicable for the selected device; and generating a report for the compliance results of the selected device with the SGS package that is applicable.