{"id":43130,"date":"2019-11-27T09:00:21","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T09:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/?p=43130"},"modified":"2024-12-20T15:02:21","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T20:02:21","slug":"windows-full-disk-encryption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/blog\/windows-full-disk-encryption","title":{"rendered":"The IT Guide to Enforcing Full Disk Encryption \u2013 Windows Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Full disk encryption (FDE) is one of the most critical security features to enable on your users\u2019 systems. Realizing this, both Microsoft\u00ae<\/sup> and Apple\u00ae<\/sup> created FDE software for their respective operating systems. In this post, we will focus on Bitlocker, Microsoft\u2019s FDE solution, and guide you on how to enforce FDE for Windows\u00ae<\/sup> systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Full Disk Encryption?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When enabled, FDE software like BitLocker encrypts the hard drive while its data is at rest. In order to unlock the drive for use \u2014 that is, decrypt it \u2014 the system\u2019s user needs to enter their password. That way, if a bad actor steals a machine and removes the hard drive, they still cannot access the data stored on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a failsafe, Bitlocker and other FDE software generally include some sort of recovery key that unlocks a drive in case an IT admin removes the drive from a damaged system or the user forgets their password. These keys need to be properly managed to ensure that the drive can be securely recovered later if need be, but more on that in a second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why FDE?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, many hackers have breached an organization<\/a> because a stolen system or hard drive contained confidential information. By locking down the drive entirely, organizations prepare themselves for the worst and rest assured knowing their data is encrypted at-rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, several compliance regulations<\/a> demand some form of disk encryption to meet requirements. Enforcing FDE for Windows (and other) systems ticks that major box on IT admins\u2019 compliance checklist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enforcing FDE for Windows<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Enabling Bitlocker<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For Windows, IT admins can enable BitLocker fairly easily by means of a policy<\/a> or software solution specific to managing Bitlocker. The process is generally straightforward; an admin chooses a Windows system (or group of systems), and turns on Bitlocker using one of these methods. By the next system reboot, Bitlocker encrypts the at-rest hard drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managing Bitlocker<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Although enforcing FDE on Windows systems is relatively easy, managing Bitlocker FDE after the fact is another story. Many FDE enablement software solutions can turn Bitlocker on, but ensuring that each system\u2019s recovery key is available \u2014 such as in cases where the user forgets their password or some other issue occurs \u2014 is critical, and unfortunately, not always supported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, admins need to vault and protect these highly sensitive keys on an ongoing basis. Furthermore, as users update their passwords or new users gain access to the machines, recovery keys need to be continuously updated as well. This ongoing task means that a manual process won\u2019t work effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding the Right Solution to Manage Bitlocker<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The right full disk encryption enforcement system should not only set the FDE policy at scale across a fleet of Windows machines but also manage the entire recovery key lifecycle with a secure key escrow vault<\/a>. Unfortunately, most of the market\u2019s popular Bitlocker management solutions usually only do one or the other, putting extra load on an IT admin\u2019s plate. Beyond that, many of today\u2019s IT environments contain both Windows and Mac\u00ae<\/sup> systems, so having a solution that can do the tasks mentioned above for both Windows and Mac would be truly ideal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that a cloud directory services platform \u2014 JumpCloud\u00ae<\/sup> Directory-as-a-Service\u00ae<\/sup><\/a> \u2014 embeds this functionality into its solution, making it seamless for IT admins to enforce and manage BitLocker across their entire Windows fleet. As a bonus, the same cloud directory also handles the function for macOS\u00ae<\/sup> FileVault\u00ae<\/sup> 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using JumpCloud to Enforce FDE<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

IT organizations can use JumpCloud\u2019s Policies<\/a> functionality to enforce FDE at scale across both Windows and Mac systems with just a couple clicks. JumpCloud then stores each recovery key securely in escrow with relation to the system it\u2019s associated with so admins can easily leverage a recovery key if necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn More<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you want to efficiently and effectively enforce FDE across your Windows (and Mac) fleets, please contact us<\/a> to learn more. You can see the process in action by scheduling a free, personalized demo<\/a>.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FDE is one of the most critical security features to enable on your user\u2019s systems. This is the IT guide to enforcing FDE for Windows\u00ae systems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":43131,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"collection":[2778],"platform":[],"funnel_stage":[3016],"coauthors":[2515],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIT Guide to Enforce Full Disk Encryption \u2013 Windows Edition - JumpCloud<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"FDE is one of the most critical security features to enable on your user\u2019s systems. 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