5.6 Ensure 'Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) (SharedAccess)' is set to 'Disabled'

Information

Provides network access translation, addressing, name resolution and/or intrusion prevention services for a home or small office network.

The recommended state for this setting is: Disabled.

Rationale:

Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) is a feature that allows someone to 'share' their Internet connection with other machines on the network - it was designed for home or small office environments where only one machine has Internet access - it effectively turns that machine into an Internet router. This feature causes the bridging of networks and likely bypassing other, more secure pathways. It should not be used on any enterprise-managed system.

Solution

To establish the recommended configuration via GP, set the following UI path to: Disabled.

Computer Configuration\Policies\Windows Settings\Security Settings\System Services\Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)

Impact:

Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) will not be available. Wireless connections using Miracast will also be prevented.

Note: This service is a prerequisite for the Windows Defender Application Guard (WDAG) feature in Windows 10, so an exception should be made to this requirement if intending to use WDAG.

Default Value:

Windows 7 through Windows 8.1: Disabled

Windows 10 R1507 and R1511: Manual

Windows 10 R1607 and newer: Manual (Trigger Start)

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/2700

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-7b.

Plugin: Windows

Control ID: a378bf73ce1fc226f6b11d47532d186339703ca5f846ad3f68cb3d590652f6e4