Drift Detection Guide

Configuration drift is one of the biggest challenges in managing Microsoft Intune at scale. TenuVault's drift detection feature continuously monitors your Intune environment for unauthorized or unexpected changes, helping you maintain compliance and security. This guide explains how to use drift detection effectively.

Table of Contents

• Understanding Configuration Drift
• How Drift Detection Works
• Configuring Drift Detection
• Understanding Drift Reports
• Responding to Drift
• Drift Analytics
• Automation and Workflows
• Best Practices

  Understanding Configuration Drift

  What is Configuration Drift?

  Configuration drift occurs when your Intune policies and settings change from their intended or baseline state. These changes can be:

  Intentional but Untracked

• Emergency fixes made directly in portal
• Temporary modifications for testing
• Changes made by different team members
• Updates during maintenance windows

  Unintentional Changes

• Accidental modifications
• Misconfigurations during updates
• Side effects from other changes
• System or service updates

  Malicious Changes

• Unauthorized access modifications
• Insider threats
• Compromised accounts
• External attacks

  Why Drift Detection Matters

  Compliance Requirements

• Regulatory standards require configuration monitoring
• Audit trails must show all changes
• Deviations must be documented and justified
• Regular compliance reporting needed

  Security Implications

• Unauthorized changes can create vulnerabilities
• Misconfigurations expose attack surfaces
• Drift can break security baselines
• Changes might disable critical protections

  Operational Impact

• Drift causes inconsistent user experiences
• Troubleshooting becomes more difficult
• Change management processes break down
• Documentation becomes outdated

  Types of Drift

  Policy Addition

• Emergency response policies
• Test configurations left in production
• Shadow IT implementations
• Vendor-added configurations

  Policy Deletion

• Accidental deletions
• Cleanup gone wrong
• Malicious removal
• System errors

  Policy Modification

• Setting value changes
• Scope modifications
• Assignment updates
• Filter adjustments

  Structural Changes

• Group modifications
• Category reorganization
• Naming convention violations
• Metadata updates

  How Drift Detection Works

  Detection Methodology

  Baseline Establishment

1. 1Initial Snapshot: First backup becomes baseline
2. 1Baseline Selection: Choose any backup as baseline
3. 1Multiple Baselines: Different baselines for different environments
4. 1Rolling Baseline: Last known good configuration

   Comparison Process

Level 1: Policy Existence

• Present in baseline but missing now (Deletion)
• Missing in baseline but present now (Addition)
• Present in both (Potential modification)

  Level 2: Policy Properties

• Name changes
• Description updates
• Platform modifications
• Version changes

  Level 3: Configuration Details

• Individual setting comparisons
• Value type validation
• Array order significance
• Nested object analysis

  Level 4: Assignments and Scope

• Target group changes
• Filter modifications
• Exclusion updates
• Priority adjustments

  Detection Frequency

  Continuous Monitoring

• Real-time via webhook integration
• Event-driven detection
• Immediate alerts for critical changes

  Scheduled Scanning

• Hourly: High-security environments
• Daily: Standard production
• Weekly: Stable environments
• On-Demand: Manual triggers

  Change Classification

  Severity Levels

  🔴 Critical

• Security baseline modifications
• Compliance policy disabling
• Conditional access changes
• Encryption policy updates

  🟡 Warning

• Non-security policy changes
• Assignment modifications
• Naming convention violations
• Metadata updates

  🔵 Informational

• Description updates
• Tag changes
• Comment additions
• Version increments

  Change Categories

  Security Changes

• Password policies
• Encryption settings
• Firewall rules
• Anti-malware configurations

  Compliance Changes

• Compliance rules
• Actions for noncompliance
• Grace period modifications
• Platform settings

  Access Changes

• VPN configurations
• Wi-Fi profiles
• Certificate deployments
• Conditional access

  Application Changes

• App protection policies
• App configuration
• Deployment rules
• Update settings

  Configuring Drift Detection

  Enabling Drift Detection

  Per-Tenant Configuration

1. 1Navigate to Tenants section
2. 1Select target tenant
3. 1Click Drift Detection tab
4. 1Toggle Enable Drift Detection

   Global Configuration

5. 1Go to Settings* → *Drift Detection
6. 1Set global defaults:

Setting Up Baselines

Creating a Baseline

1. 1From Existing Backup:

2. From Current State: - Trigger immediate backup - Mark as baseline - Document reason - Apply to tenant

Managing Multiple Baselines

Environment-Specific Baselines

Production Baseline: 2024-01-01 (Quarterly update)
Staging Baseline: 2024-01-15 (Latest tested)
Development Baseline: Current (Always latest)

Compliance Baselines

• HIPAA Baseline: Specific healthcare requirements
• GDPR Baseline: European privacy standards
• SOC2 Baseline: Security compliance
• Custom Baseline: Organization-specific

  Detection Rules

  Creating Custom Rules

  Rule Builder Interface

1. 1Click "Add Detection Rule"
2. 1Configure conditions:

   IF Policy Type = "Compliance"
   AND Platform = "Windows"
   AND Setting = "BitLocker"
   THEN Severity = "Critical"
   AND Alert = "Immediate"
   

3. Set actions: - Send alert - Create ticket - Trigger automation - Block change

Pre-built Rule Templates

Security-Focused Rules

• Alert on any security baseline change
• Critical for encryption modifications
• Warning for firewall adjustments
• Info for update ring changes

  Compliance Rules

• Critical for compliance policy deletion
• Warning for grace period extensions
• Alert on action modifications
• Track assignment changes

  Exclusions and Whitelisting

  Temporary Exclusions

1. 1Create exclusion window
2. 1Set start/end time
3. 1Define scope (policies/settings)
4. 1Add justification

   Permanent Exclusions

• Test policies
• Development configurations
• Pilot programs
• Dynamic settings

  Whitelist Management

• Version updates
• Description modifications
• Approved assignment groups
• Scheduled modifications

  Understanding Drift Reports

  Report Components

  Executive Summary

• Total changes detected
• Severity distribution
• Trend over time
• Compliance status

  Detailed Change List

  Each change entry includes:

  Change Metadata

• Detection timestamp
• Policy name and ID
• Change type (Add/Modify/Delete)
• Severity level

  Change Details

• Previous value
• Current value
• Difference highlighting
• Impact assessment

  Context Information

• Who made the change (if available)
• When change occurred
• Related changes
• Affected devices/users

  Report Formats

  Interactive Web Report

• Filterable and sortable
• Drill-down capabilities
• Visual comparisons
• Export options

  PDF Report

• Formatted for printing
• Executive summary page
• Detailed findings
• Recommendations section

  CSV/Excel Export

• Raw data for analysis
• Pivot table ready
• Custom filtering
• Trend analysis

  JSON/API Format

• Machine-readable
• Integration-friendly
• Automation-ready
• Full fidelity

  Reading Drift Reports

  Understanding Severity Indicators

  Critical Changes (Red)

Policy: "Corporate Device Compliance"
Change: Compliance rule removed
Previous: Require BitLocker = True
Current: Require BitLocker = Not Set
Impact: 2,450 devices no longer require encryption
Action Required: IMMEDIATE

Warning Changes (Yellow) Example:

Policy: "WiFi-Corporate"
Change: Authentication method modified
Previous: WPA2-Enterprise
Current: WPA2-Personal
Impact: Security downgrade for corporate network
Action Required: Review within 24 hours

Informational Changes (Blue) Example:

Policy: "App Protection - Outlook"
Change: Description updated
Previous: "Protect corporate email"
Current: "Protect corporate email - Updated 2024"
Impact: No functional change
Action Required: None

Analyzing Patterns

Trend Analysis

• Time of day patterns
• Day of week trends
• Correlation with events
• Seasonal variations

  Change Velocity

• Changes per day/week
• Acceleration indicators
• Unusual spikes
• Baseline deviation

  Change Attribution

• User-initiated changes
• System updates
• Automated processes
• Unknown sources

  Responding to Drift

  Immediate Response

  Critical Drift Response

  1. Alert Receipt (0-5 minutes)

2. Initial Assessment (5-15 minutes) - Review change details - Determine impact scope - Check for related changes - Identify change source

3. Decision Point (15-20 minutes) - Authorized: Document and approve - Unauthorized: Initiate rollback - Unknown: Investigate further

4. Action Execution (20-30 minutes) - Revert if necessary - Document decision - Update baseline if approved - Notify stakeholders

Investigation Process

Gathering Information

Check Audit Logs

1. 1Intune audit logs
2. 1Azure AD sign-in logs
3. 1PIM activation logs
4. 1Application logs

   Interview Stakeholders

• Recent change requests
• Maintenance windows
• Known issues
• Team member activities

  Review Documentation

• Change control records
• Approval emails
• Ticket systems
• Communication channels

  Root Cause Analysis

  Technical Analysis

• What exactly changed?
• When did it change?
• What triggered the change?
• What else was affected?

  Process Analysis

• Was change process followed?
• Were approvals obtained?
• Was documentation updated?
• Was testing performed?

  People Analysis

• Who has access?
• Who was working?
• Training adequacy?
• Communication effectiveness?

  Remediation Options

  Automatic Rollback

1. 1Set auto-rollback rules
2. 1Define trigger conditions
3. 1Configure safety checks
4. 1Enable with confirmation

   Manual Rollback

1. 1Select previous configuration
2. 1Preview changes
3. 1Impact assessment
4. 1Execute rollback
5. 1Verify success

   Partial Remediation

• Revert specific settings
• Keep approved changes
• Fix only critical issues
• Gradual remediation

  Acceptance and Documentation

1. 1Document justification
2. 1Update baseline
3. 1Modify detection rules
4. 1Communicate change

   Drift Analytics

   Dashboards and Visualizations

   Drift Overview Dashboard

   Key Metrics Widget

• Current drift score (0-100)
• Changes last 24h/7d/30d
• Severity distribution pie chart
• Compliance percentage

  Trend Graphs

• Daily change volume
• Severity over time
• Drift score trending
• Baseline deviation

  Hot Spots Map

• Most changed policies
• Frequent change areas
• Problem categories
• User activity heat map

  Historical Analysis

  Time-based Analysis

  Change Timeline

• Change events
• Severity indicators
• Baseline updates
• Remediation actions

  Period Comparison

• This week vs last week
• Month-over-month
• Quarter comparisons
• Year-over-year

  Statistical Analysis

  Change Statistics

• Mean time between changes
• Standard deviation
• Change clustering
• Anomaly detection

  Correlation Analysis

• Change correlation matrix
• Related change patterns
• Cascade effect tracking
• Dependency mapping

  Predictive Analytics

  Drift Forecasting

• Expected drift rate
• High-risk periods
• Maintenance windows
• Resource planning

  Risk Scoring

• Historical patterns
• Current velocity
• Severity weighting
• Compliance impact

  Automation and Workflows

  Alert Automation

  Notification Rules

  Email Notifications

yaml
Rule: Critical Security Drift
Condition: 
  - Severity: Critical
  - Category: Security
  - Change: Any
Action:
  - Email: security-team@company.com
  - Email: ciso@company.com
  - SMS: On-call phone
  - Priority: High

Teams/Slack Integration

yaml
Rule: Daily Drift Summary
Schedule: Daily @ 9:00 AM
Content:
  - Change count
  - Severity breakdown
  - Top 5 changes
  - Action items
Channel: #intune-monitoring

Ticket Creation

ServiceNow Integration Automatic ticket creation:

• Priority based on severity
• Auto-assign to team
• Include drift details
• Link to report

  Jira Integration

• Story for investigation
• Task for remediation
• Bug for issues
• Epic for major drift

  Workflow Automation

  Approval Workflows

  Change Approval Process

1. 1Drift detected
2. 1Notification sent to approver
3. 1Approver reviews in portal
4. 1Approval/Rejection decision
5. 1Automatic action based on decision

   Escalation Chains

Level 1: Team Lead (Warning)
  ↓ (No response in 1 hour)
Level 2: Manager (Warning + Critical)
  ↓ (No response in 2 hours)
Level 3: Director (All)
  ↓ (No response in 4 hours)
Level 4: CISO (Automatic rollback)

Remediation Automation

Auto-Remediation Rules Configure automatic fixes:

yaml
Rule: Auto-Fix Compliance Drift
Trigger: 
  - Policy Type: Compliance
  - Severity: Critical
  - Change: Setting modification
Action:
  - Validate: Check baseline
  - Revert: Apply baseline setting
  - Verify: Confirm correction
  - Log: Document action
  - Notify: Send confirmation

Rollback Automation Automatic reversion:

• Immediate for critical security
• Scheduled for maintenance window
• Gradual for large changes
• Confirmed for production

  Integration Points

  SIEM Integration

  Splunk/Sentinel

• Real-time event streaming
• CEF/LEEF format
• Severity mapping
• Custom fields

  Correlation Rules

• Multiple drift events
• Related security events
• User behavior analytics
• Threat detection

  API Webhooks

  Custom Integrations

json
{
  "event": "drift_detected",
  "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "tenant": "contoso",
  "severity": "critical",
  "policy": {
    "id": "guid",
    "name": "BitLocker Policy",
    "type": "DeviceConfiguration"
  },
  "change": {
    "type": "modification",
    "setting": "RequireEncryption",
    "previous": true,
    "current": false
  },
  "impact": {
    "devices": 1500,
    "users": 750
  }
}

Best Practices

Configuration Best Practices

Baseline Management

• Update baselines quarterly
• Document baseline changes
• Maintain baseline history
• Test before applying

  Detection Tuning

• Start with default rules
• Gradually customize
• Reduce false positives
• Focus on critical items

  Alert Configuration

• Avoid alert fatigue
• Prioritize effectively
• Group related alerts
• Clear action requirements

  Operational Best Practices

  Regular Reviews

• Daily critical review
• Weekly summary review
• Monthly trend analysis
• Quarterly baseline update

  Team Processes

• Define clear responsibilities
• Document procedures
• Regular training
• Practice responses

  Change Control

• All changes through process
• Document emergency changes
• Update baselines promptly
• Communicate changes

  Security Best Practices

  Access Control

• Limit who can modify
• Audit access regularly
• Use PIM for elevation
• Monitor privileged actions

  Verification

• Verify detected changes
• Validate remediations
• Test rollback procedures
• Confirm corrections

  Documentation

• Document all drift
• Justify acceptances
• Record investigations
• Maintain audit trail

  Troubleshooting

  Common Issues

  False Positives

• System updates: Add to exclusions
• Time sync issues: Verify timestamps
• Comparison errors: Check baseline
• Format changes: Update rules

  Missing Detection

• Exclusion rules too broad
• Detection disabled
• Baseline outdated
• Sync delays

  Performance Issues

• Reduce scan frequency
• Optimize rules
• Archive old data
• Upgrade resources

  Advanced Troubleshooting

  Debug Mode

1. 1Settings → Advanced
2. 1Enable debug mode
3. 1Reproduce issue
4. 1Review debug logs
5. 1Disable when done

   Manual Validation

1. 1Export current state
2. 1Export baseline
3. 1Manual comparison
4. 1Identify discrepancies
5. 1Adjust configuration

   Summary

   Effective drift detection requires:

• Proper configuration and baselines
• Regular monitoring and review
• Clear response procedures
• Continuous improvement
• Team training and awareness

  With TenuVault's drift detection, you can:

• Maintain configuration integrity
• Ensure compliance
• Improve security posture
• Reduce operational issues
• Enable confident change management

  ---

  Continue to the Troubleshooting Guide for solving common issues, or review the Best Practices Guide for optimization recommendations.