10 Intune Policies Best Practices

Intune is a cloud-based mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM) solution from Microsoft. It helps organizations manage and secure their mobile devices, apps, and data. Intune policies are an important part of the Intune solution, as they help organizations define and enforce the rules for their mobile devices.

In this article, we will discuss 10 Intune policies best practices that organizations should consider when setting up their Intune policies. By following these best practices, organizations can ensure that their Intune policies are effective and secure.

1. Use the Intune Policy Pack for Windows 10

The Intune Policy Pack for Windows 10 is a collection of pre-configured policies that are designed to help you quickly and easily configure the most common settings for your organization.

The policy pack includes over 100 different policies, covering everything from device security to user experience. It also provides detailed descriptions of each policy so you can understand exactly what it does and how it will affect your users. This makes it easy to find the right policy for your needs without having to spend time researching and testing individual policies.

Using the Intune Policy Pack for Windows 10 helps ensure that all of your devices are configured with the same settings, making it easier to manage them and keep them secure.

2. Create a baseline policy to apply to all devices

A baseline policy is a set of rules that all devices must adhere to, regardless of their type or purpose. This ensures that all devices are secure and compliant with your organization’s security standards. It also makes it easier to manage policies across different types of devices since you only need to create one policy instead of multiple ones for each device type.

Creating a baseline policy can help reduce the amount of time spent managing Intune policies, as well as ensure that all devices in your organization are secure and compliant.

3. Apply policies based on device type and user group

When you apply policies based on device type and user group, it allows you to customize the settings for each device or user. This ensures that only the necessary settings are applied to a particular device or user, which helps reduce the risk of misconfiguration and improves security.

It also makes it easier to manage your Intune policies since you can quickly identify which devices or users have which settings applied. This saves time when troubleshooting issues or making changes to existing policies.

4. Make sure your users can access corporate resources

Intune policies are designed to protect corporate data and resources, but if users can’t access them, then the policies become useless.

To ensure that your users have access to the resources they need, you should create Intune policies that allow for secure authentication and authorization. This means setting up multi-factor authentication (MFA) or single sign-on (SSO) so that users only need to enter their credentials once to gain access to all of their corporate resources. Additionally, you should also set up role-based access control (RBAC) so that users only have access to the resources they need.

5. Don’t use local accounts when you can avoid it

Local accounts are not synced with the cloud, so if a user leaves your organization or their device is lost or stolen, you won’t be able to access any of the data stored on that device.

Instead, use Azure Active Directory (AAD) accounts for all users. AAD accounts are synced with the cloud and can be used to authenticate users across multiple devices. This makes it easier to manage user access and security policies, as well as track user activity. Additionally, using AAD accounts allows you to take advantage of features like multi-factor authentication and conditional access policies.

6. Require multi-factor authentication

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security to your organization’s data and devices. It requires users to provide two or more pieces of evidence, such as a password and a code sent via text message, before they can access their accounts.

This helps protect against unauthorized access by making it much harder for hackers to gain access to user accounts. MFA also ensures that only authorized users are able to access sensitive information, which is especially important when dealing with corporate data.

Enabling multi-factor authentication in Intune is easy. All you need to do is create a policy that requires users to set up MFA on their devices. This will ensure that all users have the same level of protection and help keep your organization’s data secure.

7. Configure BitLocker encryption

BitLocker is a data encryption feature that helps protect your device from unauthorized access. It encrypts the entire drive, including system files and user data, so if someone were to steal or gain access to your device, they wouldn’t be able to read any of the information stored on it.

To configure BitLocker in Intune, you’ll need to create an encryption policy. This policy will specify which devices should be encrypted, what type of encryption should be used, and how often the encryption keys should be changed. Once the policy is created, it can be deployed to all applicable devices.

8. Set up conditional access

Conditional access allows you to set up rules that determine when and how users can access corporate resources. This helps ensure that only authorized users are able to access sensitive data, while also preventing malicious actors from gaining access.

For example, you could set up a rule that requires two-factor authentication for any user attempting to access the company’s network from an unknown device or location. You could also set up a rule that blocks access if the user is using an outdated version of their operating system.

By setting up conditional access policies, you can help protect your organization from potential security threats and keep your data safe.

9. Monitor compliance with security baselines

Security baselines are a set of standards that define the minimum security requirements for devices and applications. By monitoring compliance with these baselines, you can ensure that all devices in your organization meet the same level of security.

To monitor compliance with security baselines, use Intune’s built-in reporting capabilities to generate reports on device and application compliance. You can also configure alerts so that you’re notified when any device or application falls out of compliance. This way, you can quickly take action to address any potential security risks.

10. Review your settings regularly

Intune policies are designed to help you manage and secure your devices, but they can also be used to restrict access to certain features or applications.

If you don’t review your settings regularly, you may find that some of the restrictions you’ve put in place have become outdated or no longer apply. This could lead to users having access to features or applications that you didn’t intend for them to have access to.

By reviewing your Intune policies on a regular basis, you can ensure that all of your settings are up-to-date and still relevant. This will help keep your organization’s data safe and secure while allowing users to access only the features and applications that you want them to have access to.