Essential Eight in Microsoft 365 and Intune: Practical Implementation Guide

The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) and the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) developed the Essential Eight Framework (retrieved 26 September 2026) to provide Australian organisations with a prioritized, prescriptive baseline of technical cyber mitigations. For the majority of Australian commercial and government enterprises, Microsoft 365—specifically Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Enterprise E5—forms the foundational operating platform for endpoints, collaboration, and identity.

While many security teams assume that achieving Essential Eight compliance requires procuring complex, disparate third-party cybersecurity software suites, Microsoft's cloud ecosystem contains native capabilities capable of satisfying the vast majority of requirements across the ACSC Essential Eight Maturity Model (updated November 2023, retrieved 26 September 2026). However, knowing which native tool to deploy, how to configure policies to prevent user disruption, and where Microsoft's native features leave coverage gaps is critical to achieving a verifiable audit outcome.

Key Takeaways

• Native Cloud Alignment: Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Entra ID, and Defender for Endpoint can satisfy over 80% of Essential Eight technical controls when properly architected.
• Licensing Optimization: Microsoft 365 Business Premium (for SMEs up to 300 users) and Enterprise E5 provide the necessary licensing primitives for Application Control, Conditional Access, and Attack Surface Reduction.
• The Critical Coverage Gaps: Native Microsoft tooling does not completely solve third-party application catalog packaging, air-gapped immutable SaaS backup, or daily manual audit log reviews without intentional architectural extensions.
• Phased Rollouts: Application Control (WDAC) and Attack Surface Reduction must always be deployed in audit mode first to catalog organizational dependencies and prevent business disruption.
• Interactive Tools & Services: Assess your baseline posture with our Essential Eight Assessment, explore our Essential Eight Consulting, or review our Microsoft Entra CIAM Services.

Strategy-by-Strategy Microsoft Implementation

Below is a detailed engineering analysis of how each of the eight ASD mitigation strategies maps to native Microsoft 365, Intune, and Azure cloud capabilities:

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 1. Application Control        --> Microsoft App Control for Business (WDAC)   |
| 2. Patch Applications         --> Intune Enterprise App Mgmt & Defender TVM   |
| 3. Configure Office Macros    --> Intune Administrative Templates (ADMX)      |
| 4. User App Hardening         --> Defender Attack Surface Reduction (ASR)     |
| 5. Restrict Admin Privileges  --> Entra Privileged Identity Management & LAPS |
| 6. Patch Operating Systems    --> Windows Update for Business (WUfB) Rings    |
| 7. Multi-Factor Auth (MFA)    --> Entra Conditional Access & Phishing-Resist  |
| 8. Regular Backups            --> Azure Backup & M365 Backup Immutability     |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Strategy 1: Application Control

• ACSC Objective: Prevent unauthorized executables, dynamic link libraries (DLLs), scripts (PowerShell, VBScript, Batch), and installers from executing on endpoints and servers.

• Microsoft Native Capability: Microsoft App Control for Business (formerly Windows Defender Application Control, or WDAC).

• Engineering Implementation: App Control for Business operates at the Windows kernel level, providing far greater tamper resistance than legacy AppLocker. Using Microsoft Intune, administrators deploy custom WDAC XML policies configured in user-mode code integrity (UMCI) mode.

  At Maturity Level 1 and 2, organisations configure rules based on Well-Known Trusted Publishers (whitelisting software signed by trusted certificates, such as Microsoft, Adobe, and verified corporate vendors) combined with the Managed Installer feature via Intune. When enabled, Intune marks binaries it installs as trusted, allowing legitimate corporate software updates to run automatically while blocking unauthorized user downloads from standard writable paths like %APPDATA% and %TEMP%.

• Coverage Limitations: Creating custom WDAC XML policies requires specialized PowerShell tooling (WDACConfig or the WDAC Wizard) and thorough audit-mode testing. Incomplete rule sets can inadvertently block legitimate line-of-business software or internally developed utilities.

Strategy 2: Patch Applications

• ACSC Objective: Remediate security vulnerabilities in commercial third-party applications within one month of release, or within 48 hours for vulnerabilities with published critical exploits.

• Microsoft Native Capability: Microsoft Intune Enterprise App Management and Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management.

• Engineering Implementation: Defender Vulnerability Management continuously inventories installed software across Windows, macOS, and Linux endpoints, assigning each device an exposure score and correlating installed versions against the National Vulnerability Database (NVD).

  To satisfy the strict 48-hour patching requirement for high-risk applications (e.g. web browsers, PDF readers, web plugins), organisations deploy Intune Enterprise App Management or configure automated WinGet packaging pipelines using Azure Automation. This ensures that when a vendor publishes an urgent security update, endpoints receive and execute the silent installer automatically.

• Coverage Limitations: Standard Microsoft 365 licensing covers OS and first-party Microsoft software patching natively, but automated third-party application catalog updates require either the Intune Suite add-on, specialized package management scripts, or third-party patch management tools (e.g. Patch My PC).

Strategy 3: Configure Microsoft Office Macro Settings

• ACSC Objective: Block untrusted macros originating from the internet, disable legacy macro execution, and restrict remaining macros to cryptographically trusted locations or certificates.
• Microsoft Native Capability: Microsoft 365 Apps Administrative Templates configured via Microsoft Intune Settings Catalog.
• Engineering Implementation: Microsoft has blocked Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macros by default in Office files downloaded from the internet using the Mark-of-the-Web (MOTW) attribute. To achieve verified Essential Eight compliance, administrators enforce explicit Intune Configuration Profiles targeting Microsoft 365 Apps:
  1. Block macros from running in Office files from the Internet: Enabled.
  2. VBA Macro Notification Settings: Configured to "Disable all without notification" or "Disable all except digitally signed macros".
  3. Trust Center Trusted Locations: Restrict approved corporate macro templates to secure, read-only network shares accessible only by authorized personnel.
• Coverage Limitations: Macros embedded in complex legacy Excel workbooks utilized by finance or operations teams frequently break when internet macro blocking is enabled. Security engineers must establish an internal digital signing pipeline to certify approved corporate macros with an enterprise code-signing certificate.

Strategy 4: User Application Hardening

• ACSC Objective: Restrict browser execution of unvetted runtimes (Java, Flash), block untrusted web extensions, and prevent child process spawning from document viewers.

• Microsoft Native Capability: Microsoft Defender Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) Rules and Microsoft Edge Enterprise Policies in Intune.

• Engineering Implementation: Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) rules are an exceptionally powerful native feature of Windows 10/11 and Defender for Endpoint. To satisfy ACSC requirements, engineers enforce the following standard ASR rules in Intune:

  • Block executable content from email client and webmail (BE9BFC65-D5BB-4E33-A6D5-630F04390D40)
  • Block all Office applications from creating child processes (D4F940AB-401B-4EFC-AADC-AD5F3C50688A)
  • Block Office applications from injecting code into other processes (75668C1F-73B5-4CF0-BB4A-E5299B15F2E4)
  • Block Win32 API calls from Office macros (92E97FA1-2EDF-4476-BDD6-9DD0B4DDDC7B)
  • Block Adobe Reader from creating child processes (7674BA52-37EB-4A4F-A9A1-F0F9A1619A2C)

  Additionally, Microsoft Edge enterprise administrative templates in Intune enforce extensions allowlisting and disable legacy web runtimes.

• Coverage Limitations: ASR rules can block legitimate software installers or IT management scripts if deployed directly into enforcement mode. They must run in "Audit Mode" for at least two weeks to gather telemetry before transitioning to "Block Mode".

Strategy 5: Restrict Administrative Privileges

• ACSC Objective: Prevent standard users from possessing local administrator rights on endpoints, restrict privileged cloud roles, and enforce just-in-time elevation.

• Microsoft Native Capability: Microsoft Entra Privileged Identity Management (PIM) and Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS).

• Engineering Implementation: During endpoint onboarding via Windows Autopilot and Intune, devices are joined to Microsoft Entra ID with the standard user account assigned strictly as a standard user, with zero local administrative rights.

  For emergency workstation maintenance, cloud-native Windows LAPS automatically rotates unique local administrator passwords on each physical device and backs them up securely to Microsoft Entra ID with encrypted access logs.

  At the tenant level, administrators operate without permanent "standing" privileges. Privileged roles (such as Global Administrator, Security Administrator, and Exchange Administrator) are managed via Entra PIM, requiring time-limited (e.g. 4-hour) activation, business justification, ticket numbers, and mandatory secondary MFA approval.

• Coverage Limitations: Multi-tenant MSP management requires careful configuration of Azure Lighthouse or Granular Delegated Admin Privileges (GDAP) to prevent partner accounts from bypassing local PIM governance controls. Learn more in our Identity and Access Management Services.

Strategy 6: Patch Operating Systems

• ACSC Objective: Deploy operating system security updates within one month of release, or within 48 hours for vulnerabilities with active, published exploits.

• Microsoft Native Capability: Windows Update for Business (WUfB) deployment rings configured via Microsoft Intune.

• Engineering Implementation: Intune Update Rings for Windows 10 and Later allow security teams to automate patch rollouts across the fleet. To comply with ACSC Maturity Level 2 timelines, organisations configure phased rings:

  1. Ring 0 (Canary / IT Fleet): 0-day deferral period. Updates apply within 24 hours of Patch Tuesday.
  2. Ring 1 (Pilot Users): 2-day deferral period. Validates line-of-business application compatibility.
  3. Ring 2 (Broad Production): 5-day deferral period, with an aggressive deadline enforcement policy (3-day deadline + 1-day grace period) that forces endpoint reboot outside working hours.

  For zero-day vulnerabilities actively exploited in the wild, Intune's "Quality Updates Expedited" feature overrides standard deferral rings, pushing emergency out-of-band security patches to all internet-connected devices within hours.

• Coverage Limitations: Devices that remain powered off or disconnected from the internet for extended periods (such as loaner laptops) can fall outside compliance windows. Organizations must enforce Conditional Access device compliance policies that block non-compliant endpoints from accessing corporate data until fully patched.

Strategy 7: Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

• ACSC Objective: Enforce phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication across all cloud services, remote access, and administrative interactions.

• Microsoft Native Capability: Microsoft Entra Conditional Access and Authentication Strengths.

• Engineering Implementation: Microsoft Entra Conditional Access acts as the policy enforcement engine for all cloud identities. Under the November 2023 Essential Eight update, basic SMS and voice phone call verification are considered legacy and susceptible to SIM-swapping attacks.

  Using Entra Authentication Strengths, organisations enforce:

  • Maturity Level 1: Mandatory Microsoft Authenticator push notifications with number matching.
  • Maturity Level 2: Phishing-resistant MFA for all users accessing sensitive enterprise portals and administrative accounts.
  • Maturity Level 3: Strict phishing-resistant authentication (FIDO2 hardware security keys, Windows Hello for Business with TPM 2.0, or Certificate-Based Authentication) across all user logins, with zero bypass options.

• Coverage Limitations: Conditional Access does not natively govern legacy on-premises network appliances or third-party web servers that lack SAML 2.0 or OpenID Connect integration, unless fronted by Microsoft Entra Application Proxy or Global Secure Access.

Strategy 8: Regular Backups

• ACSC Objective: Maintain daily immutable backups of critical business data, software, and configurations, protected against unauthorized access and ransomware tampering, with tested restoration cadences.

• Microsoft Native Capability: Azure Backup with Immutable Vault Lock and Microsoft 365 Backup.

• Engineering Implementation: For Azure cloud workloads, servers, and databases, Azure Backup stores data in Recovery Services Vaults configured with Immutable Vault Lock in "Compliance Mode". Once locked, recovery points cannot be deleted or shortened by any user—including Global Administrators—prior to their defined expiration date. Multi-User Authorization (MUA) using Entra Resource Guard ensures that modifying backup policies requires approval from an independent security officer.

  For productivity data (SharePoint, OneDrive, Exchange Online), Microsoft 365 Backup provides point-in-time restoration capabilities across cloud mailboxes and sites.

• Coverage Limitations: This is the single greatest coverage gap in standard Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Standard Microsoft 365 retention policies and version histories are not true air-gapped backups; an adversary who compromises an admin account can alter retention policies or wipe sites. True compliance with ML2 and ML3 requires either Microsoft 365 Backup Storage or a dedicated, third-party immutable backup platform (such as Veeam, Rubrik, or Datto) with out-of-band root credentials.

Architectural Summary: Native vs Third-Party Coverage

The following comparison clarifies where Microsoft native tooling is fully sufficient versus where supplementary architectural components or processes are required:

How AgenorIT Accelerates Essential Eight Delivery

Engineering an Essential Eight compliant environment using Microsoft 365 requires deep architectural expertise across Windows internals, PowerShell, Intune deployment rings, and Entra identity governance. AgenorIT’s Melbourne-based cybersecurity architects eliminate the guesswork and avoid common deployment pitfalls:

1. Audit-Mode Discovery: We deploy all WDAC and ASR policies in non-enforcing audit mode, ingesting telemetry into Log Analytics to build bespoke application whitelists before enforcing blocking rules.
2. Licensing Efficiency: We audit your existing Microsoft 365 licensing estate, ensuring you extract maximum value from native tools before recommending third-party software purchases.
3. Audit Evidence Dossiers: We deliver complete, turn-key configuration exports, policy matrices, and restoration test certificates formatted specifically for ACSC auditors and cyber insurance underwriters.

Conclusion & Next Steps

Achieving ACSC Essential Eight compliance does not require abandoning Microsoft 365 or layering dozens of overlapping third-party agents onto employee laptops. When configured deliberately to an immutable reference architecture, Microsoft Intune and Entra provide enterprise-grade cyber resilience capable of withstanding advanced attacks.

• Evaluate your current posture with our free Essential Eight Assessment.
• Read our comprehensive breakdown of Essential Eight Maturity Levels Explained.
• Learn how underwriters evaluate your Microsoft controls in Essential Eight & Cyber Insurance.
• Discover how our Melbourne team delivers full-lifecycle Essential Eight Consulting.