Profile Applicability:
 • Level 1

Description:
 Accurate time synchronization is critical for system logging, security auditing, and coordinating activities across distributed systems. Using a time synchronization service (such as NTP or chrony) ensures system clocks remain accurate and consistent.

Rationale:
 Time synchronization prevents issues with log timestamps, authentication, and event correlation, supporting accurate forensic analysis and compliance with security standards.

Impact:
 Pros:

  • Maintains accurate system time.

  • Supports reliable event logging and auditing.

  • Enables synchronization across multiple systems.

Cons

  • Misconfigured time services can cause time drift or synchronization failures.

Default Value:
 Time synchronization may be enabled by default, but this varies between distributions and installations.

Pre-requisites:

  • Root or sudo privileges to verify and configure time synchronization services.

Remediation:

Test Plan:

Using Linux command line:

1. Check if NTP or chrony service is running:

systemctl status ntpd

systemctl status chronyd

2. Verify synchronization status:

timedatectl status

3. Confirm time synchronization is active and synchronized.

Implementation Plan:

Using Linux command line:

1. Enable and start time synchronization service (example using chrony):

systemctl enable chronyd
systemctl start chronyd

2. Confirm service is active and synchronized:

timedatectl status

Backout Plan:

Using Linux command line:

1. Stop and disable time synchronization service if needed:

systemctl stop chronyd

systemctl disable chronyd

2. Revert to previous time synchronization method or manual time setting.

References: