In Episode 161 of Cybersecurity Where You Are, Sean Atkinson and Tony Sager are joined by <a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mishal-makshood">Mishal Makshood</a>, Azure Partner Alliance Manager at the Center for Internet Security® (CIS®), and <a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-kalish">David Kalish</a>, Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Engineer at CIS. Together, they explore how <a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.cisecurity.org/cis-hardened-images?utm_source=wistia&utm_campaign=hardened_images&utm_medium=audio&utm_term=theme_csm&utm_content=2025-hardened_images-podcast_161-wistia-lp_view">CIS Hardened Images®</a> help to secure cloud environments and strengthen critical national infrastructure (CNI) resilience through collaboration.Mishal and David explain how these virtual machine images, which are pre-configured to the CIS Benchmarks®, serve as secure, scalable blueprints for cloud deployments. They highlight how CIS Hardened Images reduce human error, accelerate compliance, and foster trust across a global cybersecurity ecosystem that includes hyperscalers, supply chains, and public-private partnerships.Tony shares the origin story of the CIS Hardened Images and reflects on the evolution of cybersecurity from isolated efforts to a cooperative model built on shared standards and integrated tooling. The group also discusses how CIS Hardened Images align to frameworks and how they help organizations navigate multi-cloud environments while maintaining consistent security postures. Here are some highlights from our episode:<ul><li>00:50. Introductions to Mishal and David</li><li>01:36. What CIS Hardened Images are and why they matter</li><li>03:14. Why CIS Hardened Images are uniquely suited to strengthening CNI resilience</li><li>04:24. The cultural shift toward working as an ecosystem to start from secure baselines</li><li>06:34. The origin story of the CIS Hardened Images</li><li>10:32. The value of taking guesswork out of secure configuration management in the cloud</li><li>13:44. How CIS Hardened Images support compliance directly and through the CIS Critical Security Controls® (CIS Controls®)</li><li>20:39. Building trust through cloud partnerships and collaboration</li><li>28:50. The foundational role of configuration management in cybersecurity</li><li>34:35. Getting started with strengthening your cloud security foundation</li></ul>Resources<ul><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.cisecurity.org/cis-hardened-image-list?utm_source=wistia&utm_campaign=hardened_images&utm_medium=audio&utm_term=theme_csm&utm_content=2025-hardened_images-podcast_161-wistia-lp_view">CIS Hardened Images® List</a></li><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/white-papers/secure-by-design?utm_source=wistia&utm_campaign=controls&utm_medium=audio&utm_term=theme_rcs&utm_content=2025-controls-podcast_161-wistia-controls_dl">Secure by Design: A Guide to Assessing Software Security Practices</a></li><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.cisecurity.org/benchmark/software-supply-chain-security?utm_source=wistia&utm_campaign=benchmarks&utm_medium=audio&utm_term=theme_csm&utm_content=2025-benchmarks-podcast_161-wistia-lp_view">Software Supply Chain Security</a></li><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.cisecurity.org/about-us/history?utm_source=wistia&utm_campaign=cis&utm_medium=audio&utm_term=theme_tl&utm_content=2025-cis-podcast_161-wistia-lp_view">25 Years of Creating Confidence in the Connected World</a></li><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.cisecurity.org/cybersecurity-tools/mapping-compliance/mapping-and-compliance-with-the-cis-controls?utm_source=wistia&utm_campaign=controls&utm_medium=audio&utm_term=theme_rcs&utm_content=2025-controls-podcast_161-wistia-lp_view">Mapping and Compliance with the CIS Controls</a></li><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/white-papers/guide-implementation-groups-ig-cis-critical-security-controls-v8-1?utm_source=wistia&utm_campaign=controls&utm_medium=audio&utm_term=theme_rcs&utm_content=2025-controls-podcast_161-wistia-controls_dl">Guide to Implementation Groups (IG): CIS Critical Security Controls v8.1</a></li><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/webinar/build-zero-trust-roadmap-finserv?utm_source=wistia&utm_campaign=securesuite&utm_medium=audio&utm_term=theme_rcs&utm_content=2025-securesuite-podcast_161-wistia-webinar_vod">Build a Zero Trust Roadmap for FinServ with CIS SecureSuite</a></li><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/podcast/episode-154-integration-of-incident-response-into-devsecops?utm_source=wistia&utm_campaign=cis&utm_medium=audio&utm_term=theme_tl&utm_content=2025-cis-podcast_161-wistia-podcast_sub">Episode 154: Integration of Incident Response into DevSecOps</a></li><li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/white-papers/how-to-construct-a-sustainable-grc-program-in-8-steps?utm_source=wistia&utm_campaign=securesuite&utm_medium=audio&utm_term=theme_rcs&utm_content=2025-securesuite-podcast_161-wistia-content_dl">How to Construct a Sustainable GRC Program in 8 Steps</a></li></ul>If you have some feedback or an idea for an upcoming episode of Cybersecurity Where You Are, let us know by emailing&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="mailto:podcast@cisecurity.org">podcast@cisecurity.org</a>.

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