Securing organizational devices is essential to maintaining the integrity of sensitive data, and Microsoft Intune provides a robust solution for this. By deploying security baselines through Intune, businesses can enforce best practices and configurations recommended by Microsoft’s security team. These baselines offer a predefined set of configurations tailored to different products, helping organizations protect Windows devices efficiently. Each baseline comes with a set of preconfigured settings representing the ideal security posture, which can either be used as-is or modified to meet the specific requirements of the organization.
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Security baselines overview
When setting up a security baseline in Intune, you are essentially creating a configuration template that helps ensure devices are secured according to organizational needs. Intune offers the most recent versions of these baselines, allowing for seamless updates. While older versions of baselines can still be used, it’s recommended to transition to newer versions, as they provide updated settings and enhanced security configurations.
For instance, newer baselines may introduce new settings, retire outdated configurations, or realign certain default settings to match current security recommendations. This approach keeps devices in compliance with the latest security standards, minimizing vulnerabilities.
Common tasks with security baselines
To effectively manage security baselines, several tasks are critical:
- Creating new profiles: Establish new baseline profiles with settings tailored to specific security needs and assign them to designated user or device groups.
- Updating older versions: Transition existing profiles to newer baseline versions for updated security measures.
- Removing assignments: Disable the application of specific baselines when they’re no longer needed.
Creating and configuring profiles
Using Microsoft Intune’s interface, creating a profile for a security baseline is straightforward. Once logged into the Intune admin center, you can navigate to Endpoint Security > Security Baselines. From there, you can select the baseline that best suits your needs, name the profile, and provide an optional description to clarify its purpose.
The profile’s configuration settings are grouped based on specific security requirements. For instance, certain settings may be preconfigured, while others may need adjustment based on your organization’s security policies. Reviewing and adjusting these settings is vital, as default configurations may not always meet your unique business needs. Furthermore, insights about some settings may be available, providing additional context on how similar organizations successfully adopted specific configurations.
Profile assignment and deployment
Once configured, the security baseline profile must be assigned to either device or user groups. Depending on the scope of the settings, different baselines may be required to cover all security needs comprehensively. After assigning the profile, Intune immediately pushes the configuration to the targeted devices or users. If you need to edit the assignments later, Intune provides flexibility in modifying the profile and its configurations at any time.
Updating baselines to the new format
In May 2023, Microsoft introduced a new format for security baselines in Intune, along with an updated process for migrating existing profiles. With these changes, updating older profiles to newer versions became more streamlined, ensuring better alignment with the latest security frameworks. Organizations should create new profiles based on the updated format and replicate configurations from the older versions where necessary. Intune simplifies this process by allowing the export of baseline configurations to a CSV file, which helps in reconfiguring the new profiles quickly.
While older baseline profiles remain functional, it is advisable to transition to the new format promptly. This ensures that devices benefit from the latest security settings, which align with Microsoft’s current recommendations.
Conclusion
Managing endpoint security through Intune’s security baselines is an essential aspect of maintaining a secure digital environment for any organization. By continuously updating profiles and leveraging the latest security standards, businesses can protect their devices and sensitive data more effectively. AVASOFT, as a trusted partner, can help organizations implement and manage these security configurations, ensuring smooth operations and enhanced security across the board.
