Rogue Security Wiki

Practical procedure and troubleshooting notes for General Hardening on a Cisco Switch.

Disabling unused ports and enabling port security helps prevent unauthorized devices from connecting to your network. These steps strengthen the overall security posture of your Cisco switch.

Disable Unused Ports and Apply Port Security

  1. Login to the Cisco Switch
    ghardsw_1.png

  2. Click on Port Management
    ghardsw_2.png

  3. In the Port Management window, select any ports that are not currently in use by filling the radio button next to each one.
    ghardsw_3.png

  4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on Edit.
    ghardsw_4.png

  5. In the pop-up window, set Administrative Status to Down.
    ghardsw_5.png

  6. Scroll down and click Apply.
    ghardsw_6.png

  7. Click on Security.
    ghardsw_7.png

  8. In the Security drop-down, select Port Security.
    ghardsw_8.png

  9. Click on any of the ports you want to configure by filling the radio button.
    ghardsw_9.png

  10. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Edit.
    ghardsw_10.png

  11. Inside the pop-up window, you can configure options such as:

    • Interface Status
    • Learning Mode
    • Action on Violation
      ghardsw_11.png

  12. You can copy the settings of a port by selecting it and clicking Copy Settings at the bottom of the page.
    ghardsw_12.png

  13. From there, you can copy that port’s security settings to a range of other ports.
    ghardsw_13.png

  14. When finished, click on Administration.
    ghardsw_14.png

  15. Click on File Management in the drop-down menu, then select Copy/Save Configuration.
    ghardsw_15.png

  16. In the new window, select Save Running Configuration to Startup Configuration, then click Apply.
    ghardsw_16.png

  17. Click OK in the pop-up window.
    ghardsw_17.png

  18. Click on Done.
    ghardsw_18.png

💡 Tip: Remember to document which ports have been intentionally disabled for future troubleshooting or configuration changes.