1.21 Ensure 'Ephemeral profile' is set to 'Disabled'

Information

This setting controls whether user profiles are switched to ephemeral mode. In ephemeral mode, profile data is saved on disk for the length of the session and then the data is deleted after the session is over. Therefore, no data is saved to the device.

The recommended state for this setting is: Disabled (0)

Rationale:

Allowing use of ephemeral profiles allows a user to use Google Chrome with no data being logged to the system. Deleting browser data will delete information that may be important for a computer investigation and investigators such as Computer Forensics Analysts may not be able to retrieve pertinent information to the investigation.

Impact:

None - This is the default behavior.

Solution

To establish the recommended configuration via Group Policy, set the following UI path to Disabled:

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Google\Google Chrome\Ephemeral profile

Default Value:

Unset (Same as Disabled, but user can change)

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/8691

Item Details

Category: SYSTEM AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY

References: 800-53|SI-8, CSCv7|4.8

Plugin: Windows

Control ID: 6f0e13a103c36b006114d76840eb0e1c78bc33dfbf2618d3e2d7bd0efb9cdbe2