18.8.34.6.2 Ensure 'Allow standby states (S1-S3) when sleeping (plugged in)' is set to 'Disabled'

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Information

Dictates whether or not Windows is allowed to use standby states when sleeping the computer.

The recommended state for this setting is: Disabled.

Rationale:

System sleep states (S1-S3) keep power to the RAM which may contain secrets, such as the BitLocker volume encryption key. An attacker finding a computer in sleep states (S1-S3) could directly attack the memory of the computer and gain access to the secrets through techniques such as RAM reminisce and direct memory access (DMA).

Impact:

Users will not be able to use Sleep (S3) while plugged in, which resumes faster than Hibernation (S4).

Solution

To establish the recommended configuration, set the following Device Configuration Policy to Disabled:

To access the Device Configuration Policy from the Intune Home page:

Click Devices

Click Configuration profiles

Click Create profile

Select the platform (Windows 10 and later)

Select the profile (Administrative Templates)

Click Create

Enter a Name

Click Next

Configure the following Setting

Path: Computer Configuration/System/Power Management/Sleep Settings
Setting Name: Allow standby states (S1-S3) when sleeping (plugged in)
Configuration: Disabled

Select OK

Continue through the Wizard to complete the creation of the profile (profile assignments, applicability etc.)

Note: More than one configuration setting from each of the Configuration profiles (ex: Administrative Templates, Custom etc.) can be added to each Device Configuration Policy.

Note 2: This recommendation can also be set using the Endpoint protection profile using Windows Encryption settings.

Default Value:

Enabled. (Windows uses standby states to put the computer in a sleep state.)

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/3358