18.9.47.12.2 Ensure 'Turn on e-mail scanning' is set to 'Enabled'

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Information

This policy setting allows you to configure e-mail scanning. When e-mail scanning is enabled, the engine will parse the mailbox and mail files, according to their specific format, in order to analyze the mail bodies and attachments. Several e-mail formats are currently supported, for example: pst (Outlook), dbx, mbx, mime (Outlook Express), binhex (Mac).

The recommended state for this setting is: Enabled.

Rationale:

Incoming e-mails should be scanned by an antivirus solution such as Microsoft Defender Antivirus, as email attachments are a commonly used attack vector to infiltrate computers with malicious software.

Impact:

E-mail scanning by Microsoft Defender Antivirus will be enabled.

Solution

To establish the recommended configuration via GP, set the following UI path to Enabled:

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Microsoft Defender Antivirus\Scan\Turn on e-mail scanning

Note: This Group Policy path may not exist by default. It is provided by the Group Policy template WindowsDefender.admx/adml that is included with the Microsoft Windows 8.1 & Server 2012 R2 Administrative Templates (or newer).

Default Value:

Disabled. (E-mail scanning by Microsoft Defender Antivirus will be disabled.)

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/3719