{"id":10872,"date":"2018-10-30T11:20:33","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T18:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/?p=10872"},"modified":"2023-06-15T15:33:48","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T22:33:48","slug":"self-service-bitlocker-recovery-key-tools-enhance-security-and-reduce-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/self-service-bitlocker-recovery-key-tools-enhance-security-and-reduce-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"Self-service BitLocker recovery key tools enhance security and reduce costs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This content has been archived, and while it was correct at time of publication, it may no longer be accurate or reflect the current situation at Microsoft.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
To get a BitLocker recovery key, Microsoft employees were spending up to an hour with Helpdesk. Microsoft Digital created a self-service portal that reduced Helpdesk calls\u2014but remote staff couldn\u2019t access it without a corporate network connection. To help our remote employees, we created a companion web app using Azure Active Directory Application Proxy. It extends the portal to any Internet-enabled phone or device. Now all employees can retrieve a single-use BitLocker recovery key in just a few minutes.<\/p>\n
Microsoft Digital uses BitLocker\u2014the Windows operating system disk encryption and data protection feature\u2014for both hardware enforcement and data protection. If a security condition is detected, BitLocker locks the operating system drive and requires a unique BitLocker recovery key to unlock it. The feature helps protect not only data, but also personal information and access to corporate networks.<\/p>\n
Outside of a theft scenario, there are a variety of reasons that a BitLocker recovery key might be needed. They include hardware issues, operating system upgrades, or failed BIOS updates. In all of these situations, you can\u2019t use your computer without a BitLocker recovery key.<\/p>\n
Previously, if our employees didn\u2019t know their BitLocker recovery key, they would have to call Helpdesk. These calls typically lasted about an hour, resulted in lost productivity, and tied up the Helpdesk technician. The employee would have to authenticate themselves to Helpdesk and the Helpdesk technician would recover the key on the employee\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n
Our employees needed to be able to access their own BitLocker recovery key without the hassle of calling Helpdesk. We used Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM), which provides enterprise management capabilities for BitLocker, to create a self-service BitLocker recovery key portal. Figure 1 shows the portal.<\/p>\n