๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ โ Real-World Findings from Security Assessments
๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ณ.๐ญ%ย of infrastructures Iโve assessed ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ผ๐๐น๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด in their Windows infrastructures.
Application allowlisting is ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ โ yet most overlooked โ security measures in Windows infrastructure. Unlike antivirus, EDR, or XDR solutions that rely on detecting known threats, allowlisting takes the opposite approach:
โ ๐๐ณ ๐ถ๐โ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ปโ๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ป.
That means even brand-new malware has a much harder time causing damage. Itโs a proactive control, not a reactive one.
๐ง๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐-๐ถ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ณ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐:
๐น ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ
Great for user workstations and controlled environments. Itโs easier to set up compared to other solutions, but keep in mind:
โช๏ธ It runs as a service โ an admin can stop it.
โช๏ธ Proper allowlisting takes time. Youโll need to audit your environment to understand what software is actually used (including shadow IT).
โช๏ธ Luckily, Audit Mode lets you simulate enforcement and collect data without disruption.
โช๏ธ Be aware of lolbin bypasses โ and check out AaronLocker for a practical starting point.
๐น ๐ช๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น (๐ช๐๐๐)
A much more robust solution โ it operates at the kernel level, meaning policies can be cryptographically signed and enforced even before Windows boots.
โช๏ธ Harder to bypass.
โช๏ธ Ideal for high-security environments.
โช๏ธ More complex to configure, but “recent” wizard-based tools have made it significantly easier to generate secure policies.
๐๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒย and built-in, very few organizations use either solution in a meaningful way. Even among those who do, allowlisting is often limited to a single use case โ not a full strategy.
If I excluded partial or narrow use cases, the real number is likely closer to ๐ต๐ฌ% ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ผ๐๐น๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด.
๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ถ๐ฝ: ๐๐ผ๐ปโ๐ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ known bad executables. True allowlisting means defining exactly whatโs allowed โ everything else should be denied by default.
