Deploy Attack Surface Reduction Policies (ASR) policies for Windows devices

Overview

If Intune profiles for Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) rules aren’t properly configured and assigned to Windows devices, threat actors can exploit unprotected endpoints to execute obfuscated scripts and invoke Win32 API calls from Office macros. These techniques are commonly used in phishing campaigns and malware delivery, allowing attackers to bypass traditional antivirus defenses and gain initial access. Once inside, attackers escalate privileges, establish persistence, and move laterally across the network. Without ASR enforcement, devices remain vulnerable to script-based attacks and macro abuse, undermining the effectiveness of Microsoft Defender and exposing sensitive data to exfiltration. This gap in endpoint protection increases the likelihood of successful compromise and reduces the organization’s ability to contain and respond to threats.

Enforcing ASR rules helps block common attack techniques such as script-based execution and macro abuse, reducing the risk of initial compromise and supporting Zero Trust by hardening endpoint defenses.

Remediation

Use Intune to deploy Attack Surface Reduction Rules profiles for Windows devices to block high-risk behaviors and strengthen endpoint protection:

• Configure Intune profiles for Attack Surface Reduction Rules
• Assign policies in Intune

For more information, see:

• Attack surface reduction rules reference in the Microsoft Defender documentation.

Run it

The check runs as part of the whole assessment, with the ZeroTrustAssessment module installed:

Install-Module ZeroTrustAssessment -Scope CurrentUser
Connect-Maester
Invoke-Maester -Pack ZTA -SkipBuiltIn

Leave out -SkipBuiltIn to run Maester’s own checks in the same run.

About this check

Severity	High
Effort to fix	Low
Impact on users	Low
Pillar	Devices
Category	Device management
Product	Intune
Feature	Endpoint security
Area	Devices and endpoints
ATT&CK	T1027 Obfuscated Files or Information, T1106 Native API, T1204.002 Malicious File
Licence	Intune
Tenant	Workforce

Product, feature, area and ATT&CK are Maester’s: the assessment does not record them, so Maester keeps them in the pack’s taxonomy.json.

A Microsoft check, part of the Zero Trust Assessment pack. Text from ZeroTrustAssessment 3.1.0, © Microsoft, MIT licence.