Detections
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18.9.5.2 Ensure 'Turn On Virtualization Based Security: Select Platform Security Level' is set to 'Secure Boot' or higher

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Information

This policy setting specifies whether Virtualization Based Security is enabled. Virtualization Based Security uses the Windows Hypervisor to provide support for security services.

The recommended state for this setting is: Secure Boot or Secure Boot and DMA Protection.

Note: Virtualization Based Security requires a 64-bit version of Windows with Secure Boot enabled, which in turn requires that Windows was installed with a UEFI BIOS configuration, not a Legacy BIOS configuration. In addition, if running Windows on a virtual machine, the hardware-assisted CPU virtualization feature (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) must be exposed by the host to the guest VM.

More information on system requirements for this feature can be found at Windows Defender Credential Guard Requirements (Windows 10) | Microsoft Docs

Note #2: Credential Guard and Device Guard are not currently supported when using Azure IaaS VMs.

Rationale:

Secure Boot can help reduce the risk of bootloader attacks and in conjunction with DMA protections to help protect data from being scraped from memory.

Impact:

Choosing the Secure Boot option provides the system with as much protection as is supported by the computer's hardware. A system with input/output memory management units (IOMMUs) will have Secure Boot with DMA protection. A system without IOMMUs will simply have Secure Boot enabled without DMA protection.

Choosing the Secure Boot with DMA protection option requires the system to have IOMMUs in order to enable VBS. Without IOMMU hardware support, VBS will be disabled.

Warning: All drivers on the system must be compatible with this feature or the system may crash. Ensure that this policy setting is only deployed to computers which are known to be compatible.

Warning #2: Windows Autopilot - Policy Conflicts: This policy requires a reboot to apply. As a result, prompts may appear when modifying user account control (UAC) settings during the Out of the Box Experience (OOBE) using the device Enrollment Status Page (ESP). Increased prompts are more likely if the device reboots after policies are applied. To work around this issue, the policies can be targeted to users instead of devices so that they apply later in the process.

Solution

To establish the recommended configuration, set the following Device Configuration Policy to Secure Boot or Secure Boot and DMA Protection:
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 (Custom)

Click Create

Enter a Name

Click Next

Configure the following Setting

Name: <Enter name>
Description: <Enter Description>
OMA-URI: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/DeviceGuard/RequirePlatformSecurityFeatures
Data type: Integer
Value: 1 or 3

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.

Default Value:

Disabled.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/14664

Item Details

References: CSCv7|8.3

Plugin: Windows

Control ID: f363a0d397f4d7fc3bc230d54aafb7ab5f27e7f7d047d20e61c0ae989044ddeb