18.10.42.13.3 (L1) Ensure 'Turn on e-mail scanning' is set to 'Enabled'

Information

This policy setting configures e-mail scanning. When e-mail scanning is enabled, the engine will parse the mailbox and mail files, according to their specific format, in order to analyze the mail bodies and attachments. Several e-mail formats are currently supported, for example: pst (Outlook), dbx, mbx, mime (Outlook Express), binhex (Mac).

The recommended state for this setting is: Enabled

Incoming e-mails should be scanned by an antivirus solution such as Microsoft Defender Antivirus, as email attachments are a commonly used attack vector to infiltrate computers with malicious software.

Solution

To establish the recommended configuration via GP, set the following UI path to Enabled :

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Microsoft Defender Antivirus\Scan\Turn on e-mail scanning

Note: This Group Policy path is provided by the Group Policy template WindowsDefender.admx/adml that is included with the Microsoft Windows 8.1 & Server 2012 R2 Administrative Templates (or newer).

Impact:

E-mail scanning by Microsoft Defender Antivirus will be enabled.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/17603

Item Details

Category: SYSTEM AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY

References: 800-53|SI-3, CSCv7|8.1

Plugin: Windows

Control ID: 89271a9a9a85bd8540bd3abcc55079a37207a42e0a11cfc35d7dfa541c4b05c6