These policies are paramount in ensuring that only secure devices are given access to corporate data. Device compliance policies work hand in hand with conditional access policies to protect company data on various endpoints, making it a significant topic in exam MS-101 Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security.

Table of Contents

What is a Device Compliance Policy?

A device compliance policy is a set of rules and settings that determine the level of security that a device should have before it can gain access to the organization’s resources. Once the device is checked against the rules defined in the policy, it’s marked as either compliant or non-compliant. Any device tagged as non-compliant does not get access to the company’s resources, ensuring the safety of the company’s data regardless of the user’s location.

Planning a Device Compliance Policy

When planning a device compliance policy, several factors to consider include:

  • Platform support:
    Compliance policies can be designed for various platforms such as Android, iOS/iPadOS, macOS, and Windows. It’s essential to understand what platforms your organization primarily uses to form a suitable compliance policy.

Example:

Platform Compliance Policy Status
Windows Yes
Android Yes
iOS/iPadOS No
macOS Yes
  • Security requirements:
    The security requirements will vary based on the sensitivity of the data that the devices will access. For instance, a device that accesses data containing personal identifiable information (PII) will need more stringent compliance rules compared to a device accessing less sensitive information.
  • User experience:
    The compliance policy needs to be reasonable to users to avoid hindering productivity. For example, requiring users to input a complex password every hour might technically increase security but can also frustrate users and hamper their efficiency.

Implementation of Device Compliance Policy

After crafting a suitable plan, the next step is to implement the device compliance policy. In Microsoft 365, this can be achieved through the following steps:

  1. Access the Compliance policy:
    Go to the Endpoint security node > Device compliance > Policies to access and create a new device compliance policy.
  2. Select the platform:
    Define the platform for which the policy is created.
  3. Configure the settings:
    Based on the planned policy, configure the compliance rules for your device. They can vary from password regulations, device health standards, device encryption, and so on.

Example:

Device compliance policy

Settings:
-Require a password: Yes
-Minimum password length: 8 characters
-Required password type: Numeric
-Require device to be encrypted: Yes

  1. Designate the policy to a group:
    After finalizing the device compliance policy settings, assign it to a group of users. This might be a group of users in a specific department or those who access sensitive data.
  2. Monitor the policy
    Lastly, it’s crucial to monitor compliance issues and take suitable actions for non-compliant devices from the compliance policy dashboard.

In conclusion, planning and implementing device compliance policies in Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security can significantly enhance data security in an organization. Understanding how to create and manage these policies is a key competency to exhibit when tackling the MS-101 exam.

Practice Test

True or False: Device compliance policies in Microsoft 365 Intune can be used to ensure that devices in your organization are compliant with your defined standards.

  • Answer: True

Explanation: Device compliance policies help to protect company resources in an environment where users access business data from a variety of devices.

In Conditional Access, what is the role of device compliance policies?

  • a) To assess devices’ security when trying to access company resources
  • b) To set passwords for devices
  • c) To monitor devices’ usage
  • d) To manage Cloud apps

Answer: a) To assess devices’ security when trying to access company resources

Explanation: Device compliance policies in Conditional Access are used to analyze devices’ security and allow or deny access to company resources depending on their compliance status.

True or False: You can apply multiple device compliance policies to a user group in Microsoft 365 Intune.

  • Answer: True

Explanation: In Intune, you can apply multiple device compliance policies to a user group. The device is considered compliant if it meets the conditions of any one compliance policy.

What can you do if a device is determined to be non-compliant based on the device compliance policies you have set up in Intune?

  • a) Block access to all company resources
  • b) Delete the device data
  • c) Send the user an email
  • d) All of the above

Answer: d) All of the above

Explanation: You can set up different actions for non-compliance, like blocking access to company resources, wiping out the device, or notifying the user.

True or False: You must assign at least one user or user group to a device compliance policy for it to have any effect.

  • Answer: True

Explanation: Device compliance policies must be assigned to a user or user group. A policy with no assignments has no impact on your organization.

In which Microsoft 365 tool can you plan and implement device compliance policies?

  • a) Microsoft Teams
  • b) Microsoft Intune
  • c) PowerPoint
  • d) SharePoint

Answer: b) Microsoft Intune

Explanation: Device compliance policies are managed through Microsoft Intune, a cloud-based service in the enterprise mobility management (EMM) space that helps enable your workforce to be productive while keeping your corporate data protected.

True or False: In a device compliance policy, you can only evaluate the Software update status of a device.

  • Answer: False

Explanation: You can assess several factors to decide whether a device is compliant or not, including software updates, encryption status, system security settings, and more.

One of the settings in a Windows 10 Compliance Policy is the Windows Defender status. What does this policy setting do?

  • a) Checks if Windows Defender is enabled on the device
  • b) Updates Windows Defender to the latest version
  • c) Restarts the device
  • d) Changes the device’s language settings

Answer: a) Checks if Windows Defender is enabled on the device

Explanation: The Windows Defender status policy checks if the built-in antivirus protection in Windows 10, Windows Defender, is running on the device.

True or False: Device compliance policies in Microsoft 365 can be used to ensure only managed and compliant devices can access company resources.

  • Answer: True

Explanation: One of the main purposes of device compliance policies is to ensure that only devices meeting the organization’s security requirements have access to company resources.

What can be controlled using device compliance policies?

  • a) The type of devices users can use to access company data
  • b) The location from which users can access company data
  • c) The security settings on user devices
  • d) All of the above

Answer: d) All of the above

Explanation: Device compliance policies allow admins to control all these elements to ensure device health and comply with company security standards.

Interview Questions

What is the purpose of the device compliance policies in Microsoft 365?

Device compliance policies in Microsoft 365 are used to ensure that only devices that meet certain conditions like system security and health status can access organization resources.

How should you configure a policy to ensure that a device is marked as non-compliant when it hasn’t checked in for 30 days?

In the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center, you need to navigate to Devices > Compliance policies > Create Policy > choose platform. In the Device Health section, you will find the setting “Days since last compliant check-in”, which can be set to 30 days.

What is BitLocker for in terms of device compliance policies?

BitLocker is Microsoft’s disk encryption and security tool. In terms of device compliance policies, it can be configured to enforce disk encryption on devices, which is a means of ensuring that stored data cannot be read if the device is lost or stolen.

What are conditional access policies and how do they relate to device compliance policies?

Conditional access policies are used to implement automated access control decisions for accessing cloud apps based on specified conditions. They work in conjunction with device compliance policies by enforcing them before granting access to resources.

What is jailbreak detection in device compliance policies?

Jailbreak detection is a feature in device compliance policies that checks if a device has been jailbroken or rooted. A device that has been jailbroken or rooted doesn’t adhere to the manufacturer’s security guidelines and is considered a security risk.

How does Microsoft Intune health attestation help with device compliance?

Health attestation in Microsoft Intune gives real-time information about the security posture of a device. It verify’s features like secure boot, BitLocker, code integrity, and early-launch antimalware (ELAM) are properly functioning, thus supporting the device compliance policies.

Can a device be exempt from a certain device compliance policy?

Yes, in Microsoft 365, you can exempt a device from a certain compliance policy by using the ‘Exception Groups’ feature while configuring the policy.

How do you view the device compliance policy report in Microsoft 365?

You can view the device compliance policy report by going to Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center > Devices > Monitor > Device compliance.

If a device is found to be non-compliant, what actions can be automatically triggered?

If a device is non-compliant, Microsoft 365 can either notify the user to take resolution actions, block the device from accessing any organizational resources, or in case of a serious threat, it can remove the device from the organization.

What option needs to be set in device compliance policy to require firewall be turned on a device?

In the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center, in compliance policies, under the system security settings, the “Require the firewall to be turned on” option should be enabled.

Which compliance setting needs to be on for the device to require encryption on mobile devices?

In the Device Compliance Policy settings, under “Device Security”, the “Require a password to unlock mobile devices” setting needs to be enabled.

What is the effect of the ‘Mark device with no compliance policy assigned as’ setting?

This setting determines the compliance status of a device that has no direct assignment of a compliance policy. If set as “Compliant”, such devices will be considered compliant and have access to resources, while if “Not compliant”, they will be restricted from access.

How can you retire or wipe a non-compliant device from Intune?

Go to the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center > Devices > All Devices > select the non-compliant device > click on ‘Delete’ or ‘Wipe’ to retire or wipe the device.

What is the “Require device to be marked as compliant” setting in a compliance policy?

The “Require device to be marked as compliant” setting ensures that the device must pass the set compliance policies before it can access any company resources.

Can the device compliance status validity period be customized?

Yes, in the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center, the period for how often devices must check in and evaluate compliance can be customized under Compliance Policy Settings.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *