Vulnerability Discussion

Indexing of encrypted files may expose sensitive data. This setting prevents encrypted files from being indexed.

Note: A different registry location is needed when systems are managed by Intune versus GPO.

Check

If the following registry value does not exist or is not configured as specified, this is a finding:

Registry Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry Path: \SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search\ (For GPO-managed systems)
Or
Registry Path: \Software\Microsoft\Policymanager\current\device\search (For Intune-managed systems)

Value Name: AllowIndexingEncryptedStoresOrItems

Value Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 0

Fix

For GPO-managed systems:

Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Windows Components >> Search >> "Allow indexing of encrypted files" to "Disabled".

For Intune-managed systems:

Revise the Intune policy to disable indexing of encrypted files.