bitlocker suddenly enabled
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greetings, I have a user that claims on his recently purchased lenovo laptop, that he started it up and is now asking for the bitlocker key. I have checked his Microsoft account, and there has not been any bitlocker keys used or saved. Is this a matter of a user inadvertently enabling bitlocker or............ ?
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@pattonb said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
I have checked his Microsoft account
Bitlocker can be enabled with no need of , nor record of, it being in a Microsoft account.
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@pattonb said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
Is this a matter of a user inadvertently enabling bitlocker or
Highly likely.
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@pattonb said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
greetings, I have a user that claims on his recently purchased lenovo laptop, that he started it up and is now asking for the bitlocker key. I have checked his Microsoft account, and there has not been any bitlocker keys used or saved. Is this a matter of a user inadvertently enabling bitlocker or............ ?
There are a lot of factors, and require a lot of questions, but here's an article that may help.
The answer is that depending on many things, BitLocker can be enabled on it's own. However, if logging in with a Microsoft account, the recovery key would be backed up before it's enabled.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/device-experiences/oem-bitlocker
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I've seen this recently on a few Dell systems too. It turns out that Bitlocker was enabled by default and Windows Updates also did a firmware / bios / efi update and it broke windows and if you didn't have your bitlocker key files stored, you were SOL.
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@JaredBusch , that is my suspicion, users these days click on "whatever" to get past screens they don't understand. although, in saying that, there is may on line reports of a bitlocker being deployed, but again, those are online accounts. so, somewhat suspect for accuracy.
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@pattonb said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
Is this a matter of a user inadvertently enabling bitlocker or............ ?
Definitely the expectation.
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@scottalanmiller said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
@pattonb said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
Is this a matter of a user inadvertently enabling bitlocker or............ ?
Definitely the expectation.
It's highly unlikely. You have to know what you're doing to enable BitLocker manually. At worst, the user could be notified to turn it on, but it's clear you're turning it on.
It's possible we don't know enough of the situation and they have a policy that turns it on. He said Microsoft account which means personal account, but maybe he meant an AAD company account. There's too many unknowns.
It's also possible the user is lieing.
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@pattonb said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
greetings, I have a user that claims on his recently purchased lenovo laptop, that he started it up and is now asking for the bitlocker key. I have checked his Microsoft account, and there has not been any bitlocker keys used or saved. Is this a matter of a user inadvertently enabling bitlocker or............ ?
Recent Windows Update is the culprit. The catch is, to remove it one needs to get in to the OS partition in order to remove it.
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@PhlipElder said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
@pattonb said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
greetings, I have a user that claims on his recently purchased lenovo laptop, that he started it up and is now asking for the bitlocker key. I have checked his Microsoft account, and there has not been any bitlocker keys used or saved. Is this a matter of a user inadvertently enabling bitlocker or............ ?
Recent Windows Update is the culprit. The catch is, to remove it one needs to get in to the OS partition in order to remove it.
Seriously? What the heck. What triggers it getting deployed?
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@scottalanmiller said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
@PhlipElder said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
@pattonb said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
greetings, I have a user that claims on his recently purchased lenovo laptop, that he started it up and is now asking for the bitlocker key. I have checked his Microsoft account, and there has not been any bitlocker keys used or saved. Is this a matter of a user inadvertently enabling bitlocker or............ ?
Recent Windows Update is the culprit. The catch is, to remove it one needs to get in to the OS partition in order to remove it.
Seriously? What the heck. What triggers it getting deployed?
My guess is that it was set up and on right from the factory image.
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@PhlipElder said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
@scottalanmiller said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
@PhlipElder said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
@pattonb said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
greetings, I have a user that claims on his recently purchased lenovo laptop, that he started it up and is now asking for the bitlocker key. I have checked his Microsoft account, and there has not been any bitlocker keys used or saved. Is this a matter of a user inadvertently enabling bitlocker or............ ?
Recent Windows Update is the culprit. The catch is, to remove it one needs to get in to the OS partition in order to remove it.
Seriously? What the heck. What triggers it getting deployed?
My guess is that it was set up and on right from the factory image.
Oh okay, that would make sense then.
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@scottalanmiller said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
@PhlipElder said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
@pattonb said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
greetings, I have a user that claims on his recently purchased lenovo laptop, that he started it up and is now asking for the bitlocker key. I have checked his Microsoft account, and there has not been any bitlocker keys used or saved. Is this a matter of a user inadvertently enabling bitlocker or............ ?
Recent Windows Update is the culprit. The catch is, to remove it one needs to get in to the OS partition in order to remove it.
Seriously? What the heck. What triggers it getting deployed?
It looks like there are a few separate issues then?
- Problem1: The BitLocker recovery key was required at boot.
- Cause: Windows update issue.
- Problem2: BitLocker is enabled and shouldn't have been, or was unexpectedly enabled.
- Cause1: May be a managed (or unmanaged ^_^) policy enabling it.
- Cause2: May be have been done by the user and user is lying.
- Cause3: May have been enabled automatically by Windows.
- Problem3: The BitLocker recovery key is unknown.
- Cause: BitLocker recovery key escrow is not set up or managed properly; lack of user training and/or user resources.
- Problem4: Microsoft accounts? AAD? Any policies? Is anything managed? What's going on?
- Cause: Lack of proper device management & identity management. Proper device and identity management could have prevented of all above issues.
- Problem1: The BitLocker recovery key was required at boot.
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I just ran into this three days ago. User said he approved an update to Windows 11 and after reboot. It was bitlockered.
I wrote it off as the user just clicking through and not knowing what he clicked on.
Now I wonder....... what really happened.
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@JasGot said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
I just ran into this three days ago. User said he approved an update to Windows 11 and after reboot. It was bitlockered.
I wrote it off as the user just clicking through and not knowing what he clicked on.
Now I wonder....... what really happened.
Windows Updates causing the BitLocker recovery screen after an update doesn't mean the update turned on BitLocker. That just means the end user didn't know bitlocker was already enabled prior to the update. It's not a rare thing for some updates to change things, such as a bios update, which might cause it. I know recently some non-driver non-firmware Windows updates caused the BitLocker recovery screen to appear next boot... But the updates themselves did not turn on BitLocker.
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@Obsolesce said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
Windows Updates causing the BitLocker recovery screen after an update doesn't mean the update turned on BitLocker.
Which is why I said.....
@JasGot said in bitlocker suddenly enabled:
Now I wonder....... what really happened.
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@JasGot ok cool, gotcha, it seemed the other way and just wanted to clarify.
