Windows 10: Security baseline news for Microsoft Edge version 81

Brink · Apr 14, 2020

We have reviewed the new settings in version 81 of Microsoft Edge and determined that no new security settings are required. The settings recommended in the version 80 baseline will continue to be the security baseline for version 81! This means we will not be releasing our typical package.

Version 81 of Microsoft Edge adds 15 new computer- and user-based settings. There are now 285 enforceable Computer Configuration policy settings and 269 User Configuration policy settings. Using our streamlined approach, our baseline remains at 12 Group Policy settings. We have attached a spreadsheet with the new settings to make it easier for you to find them.

The version 80 package continues to be available as part of the Security Compliance Toolkit. Like all our baseline packages, this package includes:

Importable GPOs

A script to apply the GPOs to local policy

A script to import the GPOs into Active Directory Group Policy

A spreadsheet documenting all recommended settings in spreadsheet form (minus the version 81 setting that are attached to this blog)

Policy Analyzer rules

GP Reports

We always welcome feedback through the Baselines Discussion site.
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Source: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/...1/ba-p/1303621

Latest Microsoft Edge released for Windows

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Brink · Apr 14, 2020

Security baseline (DRAFT) for Chromium based Microsoft Edge version 78

Microsoft is pleased to announce the draft release of the recommended security configuration baseline settings for the next version of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium, version 78. Please evaluate this proposed baseline and send us your feedback through the Baselines Discussion site.

Like all our baseline packages, the downloadable draft baseline package (attached to this blog post) includes importable GPOs, a script to apply the GPOs to local policy, a script to import the GPOs into Active Directory Group Policy, and all the recommended settings in spreadsheet form, as Policy Analyzer rules, and as GP Reports.

Microsoft Edge is being rebuilt with the open-source Chromium project, and many of its security configuration options are inherited from that project. These Group Policy settings are entirely distinct from those for the original version of Microsoft Edge built into Windows 10: they are in different folders in the Group Policy editor and they reference different registry keys. The Group Policy settings that control the new version of Microsoft Edge are located under “Administrative Templates\Microsoft Edge,” while those that control the current version of Microsoft Edge remain located under “Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Microsoft Edge.” You can download the latest policy templates for the new version of Microsoft Edge from the Microsoft Edge Enterprise landing page. To learn more about managing the new version of Microsoft Edge, see Configure Microsoft Edge for Windows.

As with our current Windows and Office security baselines, our recommendations for Microsoft Edge configuration follow a streamlined and efficient approach to baseline definition when compared with the baselines we published before Windows 10. The foundation of that approach is essentially this:

The baselines are designed for well-managed, security-conscious organizations in which standard end users do not have administrative rights.

A baseline enforces a setting only if it mitigates a contemporary security threat and does not cause operational issues that are worse than the risks they mitigate.

A baseline enforces a default only if it is otherwise likely to be set to an insecure state by an authorized user:

If a non-administrator can set an insecure state, enforce the default.

If setting an insecure state requires administrative rights, enforce the default only if it is likely that a misinformed administrator will otherwise choose poorly.

(For further explanation, see the “Why aren’t we enforcing more defaults?” section in this blog post.)

Version 78 of the Chromium-based version of Microsoft Edge has 205 enforceable Computer Configuration policy settings and another 190 User Configuration policy settings. Following our streamlined approach, our recommended baseline configures a grand total of twelve Group Policy settings. You can find full documentation in the download package’s Documentation subdirectory.
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Source: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/...ge/ba-p/949991

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Brink · Apr 14, 2020

Security baseline (DRAFT) release for Chromium-based Microsoft Edge 79

We are pleased to announce the draft security baseline for the initial stable release of the new Microsoft Edge! Please review the security baseline (DRAFT) for Microsoft Edge version 79, and send us your feedback through the Baselines Discussion site.

What are security baselines?

Every organization faces security threats. However, the types of security threats that are of most concern to one organization can be completely different from another organization. For example, an e-commerce company may focus on protecting its Internet-facing web apps, while a hospital may focus on protecting confidential patient information. The one thing that all organizations have in common is a need to keep their apps and devices secure.

A security baseline is a group of Microsoft-recommended configuration settings that explains their security impact. These settings are based on feedback from Microsoft security engineering teams, product groups, partners, and customers.

Why are security baselines needed?

Security baselines are an essential benefit to your organization because they bring together expert knowledge from Microsoft, partners, and customers.

For example, there are 200+ Microsoft Edge Group Policy settings for Windows. Of these settings, only some are security-related. Although Microsoft provides extensive guidance on these policies, exploring each one can take a long time. You would have to determine the security impact of each setting on your own. Then, you would still need to determine the appropriate value for each setting.

In modern organizations, the security threat landscape is constantly evolving, and IT administrators and policy-makers must keep up with security threats and make required changes to Microsoft Edge security settings to help mitigate these threats. To enable faster deployments and make managing Microsoft Edge easier, Microsoft provides customers with security baselines that are available in consumable formats, such as Group Policy Objects backups.

Security baseline principles

As with our current Windows and Office security baselines, our recommendations for Microsoft Edge configuration follow a streamlined and efficient approach to baseline definition when compared with the baselines we published before Windows 10. The foundation of that approach is essentially this:

The baselines are designed for well-managed, security-conscious organizations in which standard end users do not have administrative rights.

A baseline enforces a setting only if it mitigates a contemporary security threat and does not cause operational issues that are worse than the risks they mitigate.

A baseline enforces a default only if it is otherwise likely to be set to an insecure state by an authorized user:

If a non-administrator can set an insecure state, enforce the default.

If setting an insecure state requires administrative rights, enforce the default only if it is likely that a misinformed administrator will otherwise choose poorly.

(For further explanation, see the “Why aren’t we enforcing more defaults?” section in this blog post.)

How can you use security baselines?

You can use security baselines to:

Ensure that user and device configuration settings are compliant with the baseline.

Set configuration settings. For example, you can use Group Policy, System Center Configuration Manager, or Microsoft Intune to configure a device with the setting values specified in the baseline.

Download the security baselines

For version 78, see Security baseline (DRAFT) for Chromium-based Microsoft Edge, version 78.

For version 79, see Security baseline (DRAFT) for Chromium-based Microsoft Edge, version 79.

Future draft security baselines versions will be posted to the Microsoft Security Baselines Blog, and final security baselines will be available in the Security Compliance Toolkit (SCT).

Learn about Microsoft Edge in the enterprise

Check out our Microsoft Edge enterprise documentation to learn more about deploying and managing the next version of Microsoft Edge.

– Forbes Higman, Program Manager, Microsoft Edge enterprise security
– Brian Altman, Program Manager, Microsoft Edge manageability
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Source: https://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/...draft-edge-79/

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Brink · Apr 14, 2020

Security baseline (FINAL) for Chromium-based Microsoft Edge, version 7

Microsoft is pleased to announce the enterprise-ready release of the recommended security configuration baseline settings for the next version of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium, version 79. The settings recommended in this baseline are identical to the ones we recommended in the version 79 draft, minus one setting that we have removed and that we discuss below. We continue to welcome feedback through the Baselines Discussion site.

The baseline package is now available as part of the Security Compliance Toolkit. Like all our baseline packages, the downloadable baseline package includes importable GPOs, a script to apply the GPOs to local policy, a script to import the GPOs into Active Directory Group Policy, and all the recommended settings in spreadsheet form, as Policy Analyzer rules, and as GP Reports.

Microsoft Edge is being rebuilt with the open-source Chromium project, and many of its security configuration options are inherited from that project. These Group Policy settings are entirely distinct from those for the original version of Microsoft Edge built into Windows 10: they are in different folders in the Group Policy editor and they reference different registry keys. The Group Policy settings that control the new version of Microsoft Edge are located under “Administrative Templates\Microsoft Edge,” while those that control the current version of Microsoft Edge remain located under “Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Microsoft Edge.” You can download the latest policy templates for the new version of Microsoft Edge from the Microsoft Edge Enterprise landing page. To learn more about managing the new version of Microsoft Edge, see Configure Microsoft Edge for Windows.

As with our current Windows and Office security baselines, our recommendations for Microsoft Edge configuration follow a streamlined and efficient approach to baseline definition when compared with the baselines we published before Windows 10. The foundation of that approach is essentially this:

The baselines are designed for well-managed, security-conscious organizations in which standard end users do not have administrative rights.

A baseline enforces a setting only if it mitigates a contemporary security threat and does not cause operational issues that are worse than the risks they mitigate.

A baseline enforces a default only if it is otherwise likely to be set to an insecure state by an authorized user:

If a non-administrator can set an insecure state, enforce the default.

If setting an insecure state requires administrative rights, enforce the default only if it is likely that a misinformed administrator will otherwise choose poorly.

(For further explanation, see the “Why aren’t we enforcing more defaults?” section in this blog post.)

Version 79 of the Chromium-based version of Microsoft Edge has 216 enforceable Computer Configuration policy settings and another 200 User Configuration policy settings. Following our streamlined approach, our recommended baseline configures a grand total of eleven Group Policy settings. You can find full documentation in the download package’s Documentation subdirectory.

The one difference between this baseline and the version 79 draft is that we have removed the recommendation to disable “Force Microsoft Defender SmartScreen checks on downloads from trusted sources.” By default, SmartScreen will perform these checks. While performing checks on files from trusted sources increases the likelihood of false positives – particularly from intranet sources that host files that are seldom if ever seen in the outside world – we have decided not to apply that decision to all customers adopting our baseline. Depending on who can store files in locations that are considered “trusted sources” and the rigor they apply to restricting what gets stored there, internal sites might in fact end up hosting untrustworthy content that should be checked. Our baseline therefore neither enables nor disables the setting. Organizations choosing to disable this setting can therefore do so without contradicting our baseline recommendations.
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Source: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/...e/ba-p/1111863

Windows 10: Security baseline news for Microsoft Edge version 81

Security baseline news for Microsoft Edge version 81

Security baseline news for Microsoft Edge version 81

Security baseline news for Microsoft Edge version 81

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