

As such, the policy takes effect early in the boot sequence before nearly all other OS code and before traditional antivirus solutions run. With Device Guard’s configurable CI, specifically, customers gained access to a highly differentiated application control solution that provided several unique advantages not found in most other solutions.įirst, configurable CI policy is enforced by the Windows kernel itself. Device Guard would restrict devices to only run authorized apps using a feature called configurable code integrity (CI), while simultaneously hardening the OS against kernel memory attacks through the use of virtualization-based protection of code integrity (HVCI). With Windows 10 we introduced Windows Defender Device Guard, a set of hardware and OS technologies that, when configured together, allow enterprises to lock down Windows systems so they operate with many of the properties of mobile devices. With Windows 10, version 1709, also known as the Fall Creators Update we think we have changed that, and now have a solution that is a viable option for most of our customers to adopt and deploy across nearly all of their devices.

In fact, we estimate that only about 20% of our customers are using any type of application control technology in many cases these customers use it only on a subset of devices because of the difficulty of creating and maintaining a comprehensive Allow/Deny list. Consequently, adoption of application control solutions is low. While most customers inherently understand the value of application control, the reality is that few customers have been able to employ application control solutions in a manageable way. Many organizations, like the Australian Signals Directorate, understand this and frequently cite application control as one of the most effective means for addressing the threat of executable file-based malware (.exe.

Specifically, application control flips the model from one where all applications are assumed trustworthy by default to one where applications must earn trust in order to run.
