1.6.1 Ensure 'Check to disable users from adding entries to server list' is set to Enabled:Publish default, disallow others

Information

This policy setting controls whether Outlook users can add entries to the list of SharePoint servers when establishing a meeting workspace.
If you enable this policy setting, you can choose between two options to determine whether Outlook users can add entries to the published server list:

* Publish default, allow others. This option is the default configuration in Outlook.
* Publish default, disallow others. This option prevents users from adding servers to the default published server list.

If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, when users create a meeting workspace, they can choose a server from a default list provided by administrators or manually enter the address of a server that is not listed. This is the equivalent of Enabled -- Publish default, allow others. The recommended state for this setting is: Enabled:Publish default, disallow others.

Rationale:

If users are able to manually enter the addresses of servers that are not approved by the organization, they could use servers that do not meet your organization's information security requirements, which could cause sensitive information to be at risk.

By default, when users create a meeting workspace, they can choose a server from a default list provided by administrators or manually enter the address of a server that is not listed.

Solution

To implement the recommended configuration state, set the following Group Policy setting to Enabled.

User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Outlook 2016\Meeting Workspace\Disable user entries to server list\Disable user entries to server list

Then set the Check to disable users from adding entries to server list option to Publish default, disallow others.

Impact:

If you configure this setting to 'Publish default, disallow others,' users in your organization who have a legitimate need to use servers other than those in the published server list will need to obtain administrative assistance.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/553

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-6b.

Plugin: Windows

Control ID: 104b1ad55e7a4cfee1e3ef7dd92aea4d1fb71233c0323a1ca5a652a650157791