August 2025 – Page 4

This report reviews each setting in the provided Android Intune Compliance Policy JSON and evaluates whether it aligns with best practices for strong device security. For each setting, we explain its purpose, available configuration options, and why the chosen value is configured to maximize security. Overall, the policy enforces a defense-in-depth approach – requiring a strong unlock password, up-to-date system software, device encryption, and other controls – which closely follows industry security benchmarks[1]. The analysis below confirms that every configured setting reflects accepted best practices to protect Android devices and the sensitive data on them.

Password Security Requirements

Requiring a strong device PIN/password is fundamental to mobile security. This policy’s System Security section mandates a lock screen password with specific complexity rules. These settings are all considered best practice, as they greatly reduce the risk of unauthorized device access[2][3]:

Require Password to Unlock Device – Enabled (Require). This forces users to set a lock screen PIN/password. It is a baseline security best practice so that no device can be accessed without authentication[2]. Purpose: Ensures the device isn’t left unprotected. Options: “Not configured” (no requirement) or “Require” a password. Rationale: Marking this as “Require” is essential – devices must be password-protected to be considered compliant[2], which prevents unauthorized access to corporate data.
Required Password Type – Alphanumeric. This setting specifies the complexity of the password. Options range from numeric PINs to alphanumeric with symbols[4][5]. Requiring alphanumeric means the password must include letters (and usually numbers), not just digits, which significantly increases its strength[3]. Purpose: Enforce a complex password (as opposed to a simple PIN). Options: Numeric (digits only), Numeric complex (no simple patterns like 1234), Alphabetic (letters only), Alphanumeric (letters + numbers), or Alphanumeric with symbols[4]. Rationale: Alphanumeric passwords are far harder to crack than 4-digit PINs. Best practice from security audits is to require at least alphanumeric complexity[3], which this policy does. This ensures the device lock is not easily guessable.
Minimum Password Length – 6 characters. This sets the shortest allowed length for the PIN/password. Longer passwords are more secure. Intune allows 4–16; industry guidance recommends at least 5 or more characters[6]. The policy’s value of 6 exceeds the minimum recommendation, which is good for security (e.g. a 6-digit PIN has 1 million combinations versus 10,000 for 4-digit). Purpose: Prevent very short, trivial PINs. Options: 4–16. Rationale: A minimum length of 6 is aligned with best practices (Tenable recommends 5 or more for compliance)[6]. This length increases resistance to brute-force guessing while still being reasonable for users to remember.
Maximum Minutes of Inactivity Before Password is Required – 5 minutes. This setting (often called device auto-lock timeout) controls how quickly the device locks itself when idle. A low value means the device will require re-authentication sooner. Here it’s set to 5 minutes, which is in line with strict security guidelines (Tenable suggests 5 minutes or less)[7]. Purpose: Limit how long an unattended device stays unlocked. Options: Various minute values (1, 5, 15, etc.) or not configured. Rationale: 5 minutes of inactivity before auto-lock is a best practice balance between security and usability[7]. It ensures a lost or idle device will secure itself quickly, minimizing the window for an attacker to pick it up and access data. Short timeouts greatly reduce risk if a user forgets to lock their phone.
Password Expiration (Days) – 90 days. This defines how often the user must change their device password. The policy requires a password change after 90 days (about 3 months). Regular rotation of passwords is a traditional security practice to limit exposure from any one credential. Purpose: Prevent use of the same password indefinitely. Options: 1–255 days, or not configured. Rationale: 90 days is a commonly recommended maximum password age in many security standards[8]. Tenable’s best-practice audit recommends 90 days or fewer for mobile devices[8]. For strong security, forcing periodic changes can mitigate the impact if a password was unknowingly compromised – the window of misuse is limited. (Note: Some modern guidelines put less emphasis on frequent expiration in favor of complexity, but 90-day expiry is still widely used in compliance policies and thus is reasonable here.)
Password History (Prevent Reuse) – Last 5 passwords. This ensures the user cannot cycle back to recently used passwords when changing it. The policy likely prevents reuse of at least the previous 5 passwords (meaning the user must come up with 6 unique passwords before an old one can be used again). Purpose: Enforce password uniqueness across changes. Options: 1–24 previous passwords remembered (Intune allows up to 24). Rationale: Reusing old passwords defeats the purpose of expiration. Requiring a history of 5 or more past passwords not to be reused is recommended so users don’t just alternate between two favorites[4]. This policy’s setting aligns with that guidance. It forces truly new passwords at each reset, maintaining effective security over time.

Together, these password policies ensure the device has a robust lock screen defense: a nontrivial PIN/passcode that must be changed regularly and cannot be easily bypassed or guessed. This complies with industry best practices (for example, CIS Benchmarks and security auditors require a device lock PIN of sufficient length and complexity and short idle lock time)[1]. Enforcing these settings makes it far less likely for an unauthorized person to unlock a lost or stolen device and thereby protects the enterprise data on it.

Device Encryption

Requiring encryption of the device storage is another cornerstone of mobile security. This policy mandates encryption, meaning the data on the phone cannot be read without the device being unlocked. This is unequivocally a best practice for strong security:

Encryption of Data Storage on Device – Require. The compliance rule is set so that the device must be encrypted (usually, Android devices automatically encrypt when a PIN/password is set, so this goes hand-in-hand with the password requirement). Purpose: Protect data at rest by encryption, so that even if the device is stolen and its storage is removed, the data remains scrambled without the encryption key. Options: “Require” or “Not configured”. Rationale: Marking encryption as Required is considered an essential security baseline. Tenable’s audit specifies that “Encryption of data storage on device” should be set to Require[9]. This ensures that all sensitive information on the phone (emails, files, app data) is encrypted by the OS. In practice, this means an attacker can’t simply connect the device to a computer or remove its SD card to extract data – they would need the user’s passcode to decrypt it. Requiring encryption is a standard best practice and is enabled by default in this policy[9].

In summary, the policy’s encryption setting ensures data confidentiality even if physical device security fails. It aligns with strong security principles and most regulatory requirements (many frameworks mandate full-device encryption for mobile devices).

Device Security Settings (App Sources and Debugging)

The policy includes additional system security rules to prevent risky device configurations. These settings block the user from enabling sources or modes that could introduce malware or vulnerabilities, which is consistent with best practices for hardening Android devices:

Block Apps from Unknown Sources – Block (Enabled). This compliance check likely verifies that the device is not allowing app installations from outside the official app store. In other words, the user must not turn on the Android setting that permits installs from unknown sources. Purpose: Ensure only vetted apps (from Google Play or the managed Play Store) can be installed, reducing the risk of malware. Options: Not configured, or Block. Rationale: Blocking unknown sources is strongly recommended by security experts[10]. Sideloading apps (installing APK files from random websites or USB) bypasses app vetting and can lead to malware infections. The policy marks a device non-compliant if that setting is enabled, thus users are forced to keep it off (which is the secure state)[10]. This aligns with best practice to allow installs only from trusted app stores.
Block USB Debugging (Developer Mode) – Block (Enabled). This setting ensures that the device is not in Developer mode with USB debugging enabled. USB debugging is a developer feature that could be exploited to bypass certain security controls or install apps via USB. Purpose: Prevent the device from running in a state that is meant for development/testing, which could expose it to abuse. Options: Not configured, or Block. Rationale: **Blocking USB debugging is a known best