Chapter 7: Deploying Windows Securely

Over the years, methods for deploying Windows have remained consistent, with little change to the overall approach. Before the advancement of unified endpoint management tools and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), companies were challenged with efficiently deploying devices with a consistent set of configurations to their users.

Historically, companies may have relied on Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) images, applied Group Policy, or built provisioning scripts to layer configurations onto devices. For many, the standard is to use imaging tools that allow companies to build and capture pre-configured images that could be pushed out to new devices or provisioned by a third-party partner or local IT company. While effective, these methods are time-consuming and resource-intensive, but still serve a valuable purpose for hardening Windows systems for deployment. Now, with the advancements in Azure AD and Intune, organizations can deploy...