Details
This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected operating system drives are recovered in the absence of the required startup key information. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker.
Select the ‘Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored in AD DS for operating system drives’ check box if you want to prevent users from enabling BitLocker unless the computer is connected to the domain and the backup of BitLocker recovery information to AD DS succeeds.
Note: If the ‘Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored in AD DS for operating system drives’ check box is selected, a recovery password is automatically generated.
The recommended state for this setting is: Enabled: True (checked).
Rationale:
Should a user lose their primary means for accessing an encrypted OS volume, or should the system not pass its boot time integrity checks, the system will go into recovery mode. If the recovery key has not been backed up to Active Directory, the user would need to have saved the recovery key to another location such as a USB flash drive, or have printed the recovery password, and now have access to one of those in order to recovery the system. If the user is unable to produce the recovery key, then the user will be denied access to the encrypted volume and subsequently any data that is stored there.
Solution
To establish the recommended configuration via GP, set the following UI path to Enabled: True (checked):
Computer ConfigurationPoliciesAdministrative TemplatesWindows ComponentsBitLocker Drive EncryptionOperating System DrivesChoose how BitLocker-protected operating system drives can be recovered: Do not enable BitLocker until recovery information is stored to AD DS for operating system drives
Note: This Group Policy path may not exist by default. It is provided by the Group Policy template VolumeEncryption.admx/adml that is included with the Microsoft Windows 7 & Server 2008 R2 Administrative Templates (or newer).
Impact:
Users will need to be domain connected and the back up of BitLocker recovery information for the operating system drive must succeed in order to turn on BitLocker. This policy is not FIPS complaint.
Default Value:
BitLocker can be enabled on the operating system drive without the requirement of storing recovery information to Active Directory first.
Supportive Information
The following resource is also helpful.
This security hardening control applies to the following category of controls within NIST 800-53: Access Control, Contingency Planning.This control applies to the following type of system Windows.