Details
This policy setting allows you to control how BitLocker-protected removable data drives are recovered in the absence of the required credentials. This policy setting is applied when you turn on BitLocker.
The ‘Allow data recovery agent’ check box is used to specify whether a Data Recovery Agent can be used with BitLocker-protected removable data drives. Before a Data Recovery Agent can be used it must be added from the Public Key Policies item in either the Group Policy Management Console or the Local Group Policy Editor. Consult the BitLocker Drive Encryption Deployment Guide on Microsoft TechNet for more information about adding Data Recovery Agents.
The recommended state for this setting is: Enabled: True (checked).
Rationale:
Administrators should always have a safe, secure way to access encrypted data in the event users cannot access their data.
Additionally, as with any authentication method, a drive can be compromised by guessing or finding the authentication information used to access the drive.
To use BitLocker a Data Recovery Agent will need to be configured for removable drives. To recover a drive will require highly-controlled access to the Data Recovery Agent private key.
Impact:
None – this is the default behavior.
Solution
To establish the recommended configuration via GP, set the following UI path to Enabled: True (checked):
Computer ConfigurationPoliciesAdministrative TemplatesWindows ComponentsBitLocker Drive EncryptionRemovable Data DrivesChoose how BitLocker-protected removable drives can be recovered: Allow data recovery agent
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).
Default Value:
Enabled: True. (A DRA is allowed.)
Supportive Information
The following resource is also helpful.
This security hardening control applies to the following category of controls within NIST 800-53: Risk Assessment.This control applies to the following type of system Windows.