Review Corporate Enrolled Devices in the Context of Intune App Protection Policies
Implementation Effort: Low – IT and Security Operations teams only need to apply targeted app protection policies to already-enrolled corporate devices, with minimal configuration overhead.
User Impact: Medium – A subset of users may notice changes in app behavior, such as new authentication prompts, blocked copy/paste, or data access restrictions within corporate apps.
Overview
For corporate-enrolled devices managed through Microsoft Intune, App Protection Policies (APP) provide an additional layer of security by protecting data at the app level. These policies complement Mobile Device Management (MDM) by focusing on how data is accessed and shared within apps like Outlook, Teams, and OneDrive.
Typical protections include:
- Requiring PIN or biometric access to apps
- Preventing data transfer between managed and unmanaged apps
- Encrypting app data at rest
- Blocking access on non-compliant or compromised devices
Because the devices are already enrolled and managed, applying APPs is straightforward and does not require major changes to infrastructure. However, users may experience moderate impact due to new restrictions or prompts within apps, especially if policies are newly introduced or updated.
This setup supports the Zero Trust principle of assume breach, ensuring that even if a device is compromised, corporate data within apps remains protected. Without APPs, sensitive data could be exposed through app-level vulnerabilities or user misbehavior, even on managed devices.