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NTK 2019 and other Microsoft-related news
From 21. until 23. of May 2019, Portorož (Slovenia) became my home for few days. The reason for this was NTK (NT konferenca) – Microsoft’s IT conference that brought together people from all over the place.
During the three days conference was going on, I had a privilege to present three sessions of my own. As always, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who came to my sessions, even though the session was in the middle of the lunch time or the last one for the day. Thank you all for showing up and asking questions.
My sessions at NTK 2019 were:
- Povečanje varnosti Windows klientov – ways to improve Windows security
- Vzdrževanje SCCM in WSUS okolja – SCCM and WSUS maintenance
- Brezplačna orodja za upravljanje Windows okolij – free tools to speedup Windows maintenance
Presentations and demo files can be downloaded from NTK web site or from my OneDrive:
- Povečanje varnosti Windows klientov.pptx, Day1-Demos.zip
- Vzdrževanje SCCM in WSUS okolja.pptx, Day2-Demos.txt
- Brezplačna orodja za upravljanje Windows okolij.pptx
For all the demos on day one and day two I used Start-Demo.ps1 PowerShell script. Thank you Jeffrey Snover and Joel “Jaykul” Bennett for the original script.
During one of my presentations there was one Windows Sandbox related question – data sharing between Host and Sandbox. At the time I wasn’t aware of Windows Sandbox – Config Files which I believe is exactly where the question was going. There is MappedFolders parameter, that gives us an option to map local drive into Sandbox on user’s Desktop. Mapped folder can be Read-Only or Read&Write. Example of Windows Sandbox Config file with few additional options: WindowsSandbox.wsb
While we were busy with NTK, Microsoft rolled out few new products, services and announcements:
- Windows 10 1903 (available on VL Service Center since 21st of May, on MSDN since 4th of April)
- Microsoft Security Compliance Toolkit 1.0 updated with final version of Windows 10 Version 1903 and Windows Server Version 1903 Security Baseline (more info)
- AaronLocker updated (info)
- Features in Configuration Manager technical preview version 1905 (Application groups, BitLocker management, Task sequence debugger,…)
- Microsoft Edge preview builds – Chromium-based (Beta, Dev and Canary)
- Application Guard for Chrome und Firefox
On-premises BitLocker management using System Center Configuration Manager
Beginning in June 2019, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) will release a product preview for BitLocker management capabilities, followed by general availability later in 2019.
Configuration Manager will support BitLocker for Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Enterprise, and Windows 10 Education editions. It will also support Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 during their respective support lifecycles.
SCCM will provide the following BitLocker management capabilities:
Provisioning
Our provisioning solution will ensure that BitLocker will be a seamless experience within the SCCM console while also retaining the breadth of MBAM.
Prepare Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
Admins can open the TPM management console for TPM versions 1.2 and 2.0. Additionally, SCCM will support TPM+PIN for log in. For those devices without a TPM, we also permit USBs to be used as authenticators on boot.
Setting BitLocker Configuration
All MBAM configuration specific values that you set will be available through the SCCM console, including: choose drive encryption and cipher strength, configure user exemption policy, fixed data drive encryption settings, and more.
Encryption
Encryption allows admins to determine the algorithms with which to encrypt the device, the disks that are targeted for encryption, and the baselines users must provide in order to gain access to the disks.
Policy enactment / remediation on device
Admins can force users to get compliant with new security policies before being able to access the device.
New user can set a pin / password on TPM & non-TPM devices
Admins can customize their organization’s security profile on a per device basis.
Auto unlock
Policies to specify whether to unlock only an OS drive, or all attached drives, when a user unlocks the OS drive.
Helpdesk portal with auditing
A helpdesk portal allows other personas in the organization outside of the SCCM admin to provide help with key recovery, including key rotation and other MBAM-related support cases that may arise.
Key rotation
Key rotation allows admins to use a single-use key for unlocking a BitLocker encrypted device. Once this key is used, a new key will be generated for the device and stored securely on-premises.
Compliance reporting
SCCM reporting will include all reports currently found on MBAM in the SCCM console. This includes key details like encryption status per volume, per device, the primary user of the device, compliance status, reasons for non-compliance, etc.
If you are familiar with Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM), you probably noticed that above listed BitLocker-related SCCM improvements to come look a lot like MBAM features – and you would be correct to think that. The reason for that is in Microsoft’s announcement for the MBAM support – MBAM will end mainstream support on July 9, 2019 and will enter extended support until July 9, 2024.
Regardless of the MBAM situation, I sure am happy to see this new feature set is coming to SCCM.
More info at: Microsoft expands BitLocker management capabilities for the enterprise
Going down the IT rabbit hole 