Standards-based policies are based on ISO 17799 and other industry standards. These policies include the preconfigured values, the name lists, the templates, and the word files that apply directly to the targeted operating system or application.

Standards-based policies use the modules from Symantec ESM Security Update releases to check the following: OS patches, password settings, and other vulnerabilities on the targeted operating system or application. These policies may also introduce new templates and word lists to check conditions as required by the supported standard.