THISWEEK ON GADGETS
In Focus Windows 10
Microsoft is bringing a number of new features and capabilities to Windows 10 for the Enterprise. Let us highlight discuss some of these awesome futures: Identity in Windows 10
Microsoft Passport technology focuses on identity protection and takes advantage of multiple pieces to reliably identify individual users. The goal is to replace traditional passwords with one of several two-factor authentication methods. It makes use of the trusted platform modules (TPMs) available on the majority of recently manufactured systems to generate certificate keys on demand in order to eliminate many of the threats based on harvesting user credentials. One of the new two-factor options is called Windows Hello and brings facial recognition into the mainstream. Biometrics have been around for quite some time but to date have been implemented for the most part by third-party providers. Fingerprint devices have found their way onto many enterprise-class laptops for quite some time and are becoming common technology on smartphones. Another key foundational piece of Microsoft’s identity protection push comes in the form of Azure Active Directory, making it possible to authenticate a user from literally anywhere they can get an Internet connection. Information Protection This focuses on securing the information stored on a local device. At the most basic level, this capability makes it possible to control the information which passes between personal and corporate. Azure Rights Management Services is one of the back-end pieces which helps facilitate the protection of files when they move between local storage and the cloud. Azure RMS makes use of encryption to protect the data and facilitates the management of the keys to make the process work. Windows 10 brings file-level encryption to FAT-formatted disks to include removable devices. The Windows 10 operating system now provides the ability to use personal devices for sensitive enterprise files with the appropriate authentication.The OS also makes it possible to restrict the use of copy and paste to extract sensitive information.
Another protection point involves the use of Applocker to restrict access to enterprise data by specific applications, with the use of operating system log files integrated with all of these security measures, making it possible to monitor and report on any action which might represent a security incident
The company has made enhancements including the use of Azure Active Directory to improve the process of joining systems to corporate networks even when they are not within the confines of the corporate firewall.
Microsoft is bringing many resources to bear on making Windows 10 more secure, while at the same time making it play well within existing management infrastructure. The hope is that corporations will want to jump directly from existing Windows 7 systems to rolling out Windows 10.