18.10.76.1.2 Ensure 'Notify Password Reuse' is set to 'Enabled'

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This audit has been deprecated and will be removed in a future update.

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Information

This policy setting determines whether Enhanced Phishing Protection in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen warns users if they reuse their work or school password.

The recommended state for this setting is: Enabled.

Note: This setting only applies to Microsoft Accounts (computer or browser login) while using Microsoft Windows 11 and not on prem domain-joined accounts.

Rationale:

Users will be alerted if they try to use a password that has been exposed in a known data breach. This can help reduce the risk of password-related security incidents, such as unauthorized access to online accounts, and can encourage users to choose strong and unique passwords.

Impact:

Password reuse may be detected as a false positive by Microsoft.

Solution

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

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Defender SmartScreen\Enhanced Phishing Protection\Notify Password Reuse

Note: This Group Policy path may not exist by default. It is provided by the Group Policy template WebThreatDefense.admx/adml that is included with the Microsoft Windows 11 Release 22H2 Administrative Templates (or newer).

Default Value:

Disabled. (Microsoft Defender SmartScreen will not warn users if they reuse their work or school password).

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/13165