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How to think about EPM rules

In this case we are only looking at EPM rules, without allowlisting to control application execution. If you want to learn more about allowlisting and full cycle rules, please check here.
1

What is the application?

The first part of the rule is to catch or match the application you are trying to control. Before allowing something, we need to know what we are allowing. You can match the target application using file attributes (hash, name. path, etc.), publisher thumbprint (the hash of the certificate that is used to sign the executable, or certificate elements (when application is signed you can use certificate elements of the signing certificate to match the app).
2

Allow elevation?

If an application requires admin privileges, and you maintain standard rights for all users, you can allow the application to automatically elevate.
3

Can users request?

When application elevation is blocked, your users can request the permission or elevate the application.

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Rule best practices

These are some of the best practices related to rule management:
  • Give rules descriptive names so that you know what the rule is doing
  • The best rules are the ones that leverage certificate elements. For instance you create a rule that allows everything that is signed by certificate belonging to Zoom Inc.
  • If you do not want to use certificate elements, use certificate thumbprint. This is second best. Allowing the whole organization might be too broad, but allowing a certain publisher certificate is a good balance. When the application is updated, rule will still work. But if the organization renews the certificate, you will need to update the rules.
  • If the application is not signed and you can not use certificates, then use file attributes. Bear in mind that hash based rules are the worst, because if the application is updated, the hash will change, and the rule will no longer work. For applications that launch from protected paths, you can leverage the path rules, for instance for Windows apps that launch from protected directory.

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Catalog rules

Idemeum comes pre-configured with allowlisting and elevation rules for most common applications. We constantly update applications to make sure the rules are current and do not create any disruptions. With a click of a button you can allow most used applications in your environment. Learn more about catalog rules.

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Create elevation rule

If you want to create your own custom rules or elevate applications that are not listed in idemeum catalog, you can simply do that from the event. Launch the application you want to elevate, the event will be generated and sent to the cloud. Now you can create rule from the event.
  • Navigate to the admin portal of your idemeum tenant
  • Access Events section
  • Search for the application / event that you want to create a rule for
  • Click on ... and choose to create a rule
  • All metadata for the event will be pre-populated and you can choose how you would like to match the application and what elevation policy to apply.
  • Save the rule
Create Elevation Rule

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Regular expressions

Idemeum rule engine supports regular expressions when matching the applications using various attributes. We support regex for file name, file path, and certificate elements. We use case-insensitive match.
  • Match the exact file name for the edge browser
^msedge.exe$
  • Match any filename that contains video
.*video.*
  • Match the path that starts with C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\ and then contains linkedin in the path
C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\.*linkedin.*
  • Use this in O for certificate element to match anything that is signed by organization that contains Microsoft
Microsoft.*