BitLocker is a security feature in both Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate which offers full encryption on partitions and removable drives. The beta for this new tool, called Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM), is expected to become available in March. You can sign up to receive updates about the beta.
MBAM should easily integrate into any business platform with a variety of deployment tools such as the System Center Configuration manager or Microsoft Deployment Toolkit. Integration should alleviate the problems that many businesses have had with user generated PINs on the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) with PINs being used as a protector. MBAM simplifies the process by allowing the administrator to configure the PIN process.
PIN recovery has also been a big known issue in IT support. Using the MBAM will also make recovering PINs much easier with a simplified recovery process which only requires a user id, domain, and first eight digits of the key shown on a problematic computer.
The MBAM will also allow administrators to easily turn on or off BitLocker easily if systems have already been deployed, thus saving time and money. Administrators can also create reports on systems that have BitLocker enabled, or disabled, and other pertinent information such as cipher strength, removable drives and some basic computer identification. Customized reports can also be created using the SQL Server Reporting Services.
