Security of the network is a top priority for companies. Of course, this would include securing Cisco routers. It may be surprising to some that Cisco routers run many services that could create vulnerabilities. Some of these services are enabled by default.

This white paper lists a number of the services that should be disabled and why. Additionally, some best practices for securing your Cisco routers are defined.

This is not intended to be an exhaustive listing of all services enabled on Cisco routers that could create vulnerabilities, nor of all best practices for configuring Cisco routers. There are several Cisco security courses that cover this information in depth. Rather, this paper is meant to be a vehicle for discussion regarding the security of Cisco routers.