Windows 7 Security Enhancements.Security Viewpoint at March 2009
By Paul Cooke, Director, Windows Client Enterprise Security, Microsoft Corporation
Security is still a top concern for IT professionals; now that Windows 7 Beta is available, questions regarding what Microsoft has done with the Windows 7 operating system abound. There is a lot of ground to cover—more than we can in a brief article— but there are three primary topics that merit our focus here.
•Windows 7 is built upon the security foundations of the Windows Vista® operating system while improving auditing and the User Account Control (UAC) experience.
•Windows 7 helps IT control what software can run in their environment with AppLocker™.
•Windows 7 enhances the core features of BitLocker™ Drive Encryption with the introduction of BitLocker To Go™ for removable storage devices.
Let’s take a look at each of these in a little more detail.
Fundamentally Secure Environment
Windows 7 builds upon the strong security lineage of Windows Vista and retains and builds upon the development processes and technologies that have made Windows Vista the most secure version of the Windows client to date. Fundamental security features such as Kernel Patch Protection, Service Hardening, Data Execution Prevention, Address Space Layout Randomization, and Mandatory Integrity Levels continue to provide enhanced protection against malware and attacks. Windows 7 has been designed and developed using the Microsoft Security Development Lifecycle (SDL), and it is engineered to support Common Criteria requirements to achieve Evaluation Assurance Level 4 certification and meet Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2.
Enhanced Auditing
Windows 7 provides enhanced audit capabilities to make it easier for an organization to meet its regulatory and business compliance requirements. Audit enhancements start with a simplified management approach for audit configurations and end with greater visibility into what occurs in your organization. For example, Windows 7 provides greater insight into understanding exactly why someone has received or been denied access to specific information, as well as visibility into the changes made by specific people or groups.
Streamlined User Account Control
User Account Control (UAC) was introduced in Windows Vista to help legacy applications run with standard user rights and help ISVs adapt their software to work well with standard user rights. Windows 7 continues the investment in UAC with specific changes to enhance the user experience. These changes include reducing the number of operating system applications and tasks that require administrative privileges and providing a flexible consent prompt behavior for users who continue to run with administrative privileges. As a result, standard users can do even more than ever before and all users will see fewer prompts.
Security is still a top concern for IT professionals; now that Windows 7 Beta is available, questions regarding what Microsoft has done with the Windows 7 operating system abound. There is a lot of ground to cover—more than we can in a brief article— but there are three primary topics that merit our focus here.
•Windows 7 is built upon the security foundations of the Windows Vista® operating system while improving auditing and the User Account Control (UAC) experience.
•Windows 7 helps IT control what software can run in their environment with AppLocker™.
•Windows 7 enhances the core features of BitLocker™ Drive Encryption with the introduction of BitLocker To Go™ for removable storage devices.
Let’s take a look at each of these in a little more detail.
Fundamentally Secure Environment
Windows 7 builds upon the strong security lineage of Windows Vista and retains and builds upon the development processes and technologies that have made Windows Vista the most secure version of the Windows client to date. Fundamental security features such as Kernel Patch Protection, Service Hardening, Data Execution Prevention, Address Space Layout Randomization, and Mandatory Integrity Levels continue to provide enhanced protection against malware and attacks. Windows 7 has been designed and developed using the Microsoft Security Development Lifecycle (SDL), and it is engineered to support Common Criteria requirements to achieve Evaluation Assurance Level 4 certification and meet Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2.
Enhanced Auditing
Windows 7 provides enhanced audit capabilities to make it easier for an organization to meet its regulatory and business compliance requirements. Audit enhancements start with a simplified management approach for audit configurations and end with greater visibility into what occurs in your organization. For example, Windows 7 provides greater insight into understanding exactly why someone has received or been denied access to specific information, as well as visibility into the changes made by specific people or groups.
Streamlined User Account Control
User Account Control (UAC) was introduced in Windows Vista to help legacy applications run with standard user rights and help ISVs adapt their software to work well with standard user rights. Windows 7 continues the investment in UAC with specific changes to enhance the user experience. These changes include reducing the number of operating system applications and tasks that require administrative privileges and providing a flexible consent prompt behavior for users who continue to run with administrative privileges. As a result, standard users can do even more than ever before and all users will see fewer prompts.
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