1.1.60 Ensure 'Enable use of ephemeral profiles' is set to 'Disabled'

Information

This policy setting controls whether user profiles are switched to ephemeral mode. In ephemeral mode, profile data is saved on disk for the length of the session and then the data is deleted after the session is over. Therefore, no data is saved to the device.

The recommended state for this setting is: Disabled.

Rationale:

Allowing use of ephemeral profiles allows a user to use Microsoft Edge with no data being logged to the system. Deleting browser data will delete information that may be important for a computer investigation and investigators such as Computer Forensics Analysts may not be able to retrieve pertinent information to the investigation.

Impact:

None - this is the default behavior.

Solution

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

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Edge\Enable use of ephemeral profiles

Note: This Group Policy path may not exist by default. It is provided by the Group Policy template MSEdge.admx/adml that can be downloaded from Microsoft here.

Default Value:

Disabled.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/3907