Chapter 1. Red Hat Lightspeed compliance service overview
The Red Hat Lightspeed compliance service enables IT security and compliance administrators to assess, monitor, and report on the security-policy compliance of RHEL systems. Learn how to understand reporting, manage issues, and get the maximum value from the service.
The compliance service provides a simple but powerful user interface, enabling the creation, configuration, and management of SCAP security policies. With its filtering and context-adding features, IT security administrators can easily identify and manage security compliance issues in the RHEL infrastructure.
You can also create Ansible Playbooks to resolve security compliance issues and share reports with stakeholders to communicate compliance status.
1.1. Requirements and prerequisites Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
Your Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) subscription includes the Red Hat Lightspeed compliance service, which you can use with all versions of RHEL currently supported by Red Hat. You do not need additional Red Hat subscriptions to use Red Hat Lightspeed and the compliance service.
1.2. Supported configurations Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
Red Hat supports specific versions of the SCAP Security Guide (SSG) for each minor version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). The rules and policies in an SSG version are accurate for only one RHEL minor version. To receive accurate compliance reporting, the system must have the supported SSG version installed.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux minor versions ship and upgrade with the supported SSG version included. However, you might decide to use an earlier version temporarily.
If a policy includes systems that use unsupported SSG versions, an unsupported warning with the number of affected systems is displayed next to the policy in Security > Compliance > Reports.
Additional resources
For more information about which versions of the SCAP Security Guide are supported in RHEL, refer to Red Hat Lightspeed Compliance - Supported configurations (Red Hat Knowledgebase).
1.2.1. Frequently asked questions about the compliance service Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
Package names are in the format scap-security-guide-0.1.43-13.el7. In this example, the SSG version is 0.1.43, the release is 13, and the architecture is el7.
When more than one SSG version is supported for a RHEL minor version, the compliance service will use the latest available version. This is the case for RHEL 7.9 and RHEL 8.1.
As RHEL minor versions get older, fewer SCAP profiles are supported. To view which SCAP profiles are supported, refer to Red Hat Lightspeed Compliance - Supported configurations (Red Hat Knowledgebase).
Although you can still see results for a system with an unsupported version of SSG installed, the results might be considered inaccurate for compliance reporting purposes. The following factors apply with unsupported versions:
- These results are a “best-guess” effort because using any SSG version other than what is supported by Red Hat can lead to inaccurate results.
- Results for systems using an unsupported version of SSG are not included in the overall compliance assessment for the policy.
- Remediation plans are not available for rules on systems that have an unsupported version of SSG installed.
1.3. Best practices Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
To optimize the user experience and to receive the most accurate results in the compliance service, follow the recommended guidelines.
1.3.1. Make the RHEL operating system minor version visible Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
If the compliance service cannot access your RHEL operating system minor version, then the supported SCAP Security Guide version cannot be validated, and your reporting might not be accurate. With the insights-client, users can redact data like the Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system minor version from the data payload that is uploaded to Red Hat Lightspeed. But, this redaction prohibits accurate compliance service reporting.
1.3.2. Create security policies in the compliance service Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
Creating your organization’s security policies in the compliance service enables you to do the following actions:
- Associate many systems with the policy
- Use the supported SCAP Security Guide for your RHEL minor version
- Edit which rules are included based on your organization’s requirements
Additional resources
1.4. Manage user permissions for Red Hat Lightspeed services Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
Manage user permissions to control access to Red Hat Lightspeed applications. Use the User Access feature to apply role-based access control (RBAC). Red Hat provides predefined groups and a set of predefined roles to make it easier for Organization Administrators to assign, restrict, and remove user permissions to Red Hat Lightspeed.
1.4.1. User Access overview Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
Understand how the role-based access control (RBAC) User Access feature of the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console manages user permissions through roles instead of individual user assignments. User Access simplifies permission management by assigning specific permissions to roles, which can then be assigned to user groups.
You can also create custom groups and roles to provide more fine-tuned control over specific features of Red Hat Lightspeed to suit the needs of your organization.
If you are an Organization Administrator, you can use the User Access feature under Identity & Access Management in the Hybrid Cloud Console to:
- Control user permissions and organize roles.
- Create groups that include roles and their corresponding permissions.
- Assign users to these groups, allowing them to inherit the permissions associated with their group’s roles.
All users on your account have access to most of the data in Red Hat Lightspeed.
1.4.2. Predefined groups in User Access Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
Understand the two predefined groups available in User Access: Default access and Default admin access. Create custom groups to align permissions with specific personas, job functions, or teams in your organization.
- The Default access group
- By default, the Default access group is assigned many granular predefined roles, so that group members have basic visibility. Because all users in your organization are members of the Default access group, they inherit all permissions assigned to that group. The Default access group is automatically updated by Red Hat.
If your Organization Administrator modifies the Default access group, the group is automatically renamed to Custom default access. Once converted, this group is no longer automatically updated by Red Hat.
- The Default admin access group
- The Default admin access group contains only users who have Organization Administrator permissions. This group is automatically maintained, and users and roles in this group cannot be changed.
The Default admin access group includes many (but not all) predefined roles that provide update and delete permissions. The roles in this group usually include administrator in their names.
For a list of explicitly defined roles that are included in the Default access and Default admin access groups, log in to the Hybrid Cloud Console, go to Groups and select the respective group.
1.4.3. Predefined roles assigned to groups Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
Understand how predefined roles in Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console bundle permissions across multiple Red Hat Lightspeed applications to align with common user personas. Use predefined roles to reduce administrative effort, or create custom roles for more fine-tuned control over specific features.
The predefined roles are a starting point to help you to control and manage user permissions. You can then use these roles to create custom roles that are tailored to your specific use cases and organization. For example, you can use the predefined granular roles to create custom roles that provide more fine-tuned control over specific features of Red Hat Lightspeed.
Across the Red Hat Lightspeed product documentation, the Prerequisites section for each procedure lists which predefined roles provide the permissions needed to use the features in that procedure. For example, if a procedure requires permissions to view and manage remediations, the Prerequisites section for that procedure lists the Remediations administrator or other valid role as a recommended predefined role to use for that procedure.
1.4.4. Check your permissions Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
Verify your current permissions and the roles or groups assigned to you in the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console. Check your permissions to troubleshoot access issues or understand your level of access to Red Hat Lightspeed applications.
Only users with the Organization Administrator role can view the permissions of other users in the User Access settings and manage user permissions to Red Hat Lightspeed services. For more information, see the Configure user permissions section.
Prerequisites
- You are logged in to the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console.
Procedure
- In the Hybrid Cloud Console, click the Settings icon (⚙), then navigate to My User Access.
- If you try to access Red Hat Lightspeed features and see a message that you do not have permission to perform this action, contact your Organization Administrator or a user with the User Access administrator role to request the permissions required to access those features and complete the actions you want to perform.
Results
All of the applications that you have permissions to access are listed on this page and are grouped by product, for example, RHEL, OpenShift Container Platform, and Ansible Automation Platform.
You can also filter your permissions by application, for example, by advisor, cost management, inventory, and remediations.
1.4.5. Configure user permissions Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
If you are an Organization Administrator, you can view and manage user permissions for all users in your organization. Control access to Red Hat Lightspeed and other Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console services through the User Access interface.
If you are not an Organization Administrator, you will be unable to complete this task. However, you can check your own permissions for different applications by navigating to My User Access. Contact your Organization Administrator to request more permissions.
Prerequisites
- You have logged in to the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console as an Organization Administrator, or you have the required administrator User Access role permissions.
Procedure
- In the Hybrid Cloud Console, click the Settings icon (⚙), then navigate to Identity & Access Management > User Access.
Results
From here, you can create and manage:
1.4.6. User Access roles for permissions to compliance-service features Copy linkLink copied to clipboard!
Understand the predefined roles that control access to the compliance service of Red Hat Lightspeed. Use these role definitions to assign appropriate permissions to users based on their responsibilities.
The following table shows the standard and enhanced access permissions provided by the predefined roles in User Access for the compliance service:
| User Access role | Grants permissions to … | Included in the Default access group |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance administrator |
| |
| Compliance viewer |
| X |