Vulnerability Discussion

Unattended systems are susceptible to unauthorized use and should be locked when unattended. The screen saver should be set at a maximum of 15 minutes and be password protected. This protects critical and sensitive data from exposure to unauthorized personnel with physical access to the computer.

Check

If the following registry value does not exist or is not configured as specified, this is a finding.

Registry Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry Path: \SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\

Value Name: InactivityTimeoutSecs

Value Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 0x00000384 (900) (or less, excluding "0" which is effectively disabled)

Fix

Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings >> Security Settings >> Local Policies >> Security Options >> "Interactive logon: Machine inactivity limit" to "900" seconds or less, excluding "0" which is effectively disabled.