After a recent vulnerability scan, a security engineer needs to harden the routers within the corporate network. Which of the following is the most appropriate to disable?

Disabling web-based administration (HTTP/HTTPS) is the most appropriate hardening step for routers because it significantly reduces the attack surface. Web interfaces often have vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit to gain unauthorized access or control. While convenient, the security risk generally outweighs the benefit for router management, which can typically be performed more securely via SSH or console. Console access is essential for initial configuration and troubleshooting when network connectivity is lost. Routing protocols are fundamental for network communication and cannot be disabled without breaking network functionality. VLANs are used for network segmentation and are a security control, not a vulnerability to be disabled.