This policy setting controls whether the process creation command line text is logged in security audit events when a new process has been created. The recommended state for this setting is: Enabled. Note: This feature that this setting controls was not originally supported in workstation OSes older than Windows 8.1. However, in February 2015 Microsoft added support for the feature to Windows 7 and Windows 8.0 via an update - KB3004375. Therefore, this setting is also important to set on those older OSes. Rationale: Capturing process command line information in event logs can be very valuable when performing forensic investigations of attack incidents. Impact: Process command line information will be included in the event logs, which can contain sensitive or private information such as passwords or user data. Warning: There are potential risks of capturing credentials and sensitive information which could be exposed to users who have read-access to event logs. Microsoft provides a feature called 'Protected Event Logging' to better secure event log data. For assistance with protecting event logging, visit: About Logging Windows - PowerShell | Microsoft Docs.
Solution
To establish the recommended configuration via GP, set the following UI path to Enabled: Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\System\Audit Process Creation\Include command line in process creation events Note: This Group Policy path may not exist by default. It is provided by the Group Policy template AuditSettings.admx/adml that is included with the Microsoft Windows 8.1 & Server 2012 R2 Administrative Templates (or newer). Default Value: Disabled. (Process command line information will not be included in Audit Process Creation events.)