Its comprehensive suite of cloud-based applications provides a wide array of security features designed to shield your business from numerous security risks.
In today’s article, we will explore what is Microsoft 365 security, does Microsoft 365 have security, and is Microsoft 365 safe and secure. We will also guide you through eight easy steps to leverage Microsoft Office 365 for maximum business protection and peace of mind.
What Is Microsoft 365 Security?
It is a suite of pre-breach and post-breach enterprise security products that work together to detect, prevent, investigate, and respond to threats across identities, applications, endpoints, and emails.
Office 365 security is based on four pillars: security and risk management, threat protection, identity and access management, and information protection.
It offers many security features and capabilities, including data loss prevention, multi-factor authentication, mobile device management, and more.
It is backed by advanced infrastructure and processes. You can significantly enhance your cyber security measures by leveraging its security solutions.
Is Microsoft 365 Safe And Secure?
Yes, it is an extremely safe and secure platform for both businesses and individual users. Nonetheless, you need to implement the appropriate security controls on your end.
Microsoft functions under a “shared responsibility” model, meaning you and Microsoft are responsible for the service’s respective parts.
You should clearly understand your and Microsoft’s role in that agreement to guarantee effective collaboration and accountability.
According to their official documentation, users are accountable for shielding their devices, data, endpoints, and identities, while Microsoft is liable for vigorously safeguarding Microsoft 365 services.
How To Protect Your Business With Microsoft 365?
Below are eight easy steps to safeguard your company with Microsoft 365 Secure.
Application patching denotes frequently updating your applications with state-of-the-art security patches and updates to address known security vulnerabilities and other security problems that invaders are highly likely to exploit.
Countless cyber-attacks exploit known vulnerabilities in your applications, and failing to patch them promptly can leave your sensitive data and systems to potential attacks. You can use two Microsoft 365 security solutions for application patching: Microsoft Intune and Winget.
Winget is a lightweight, command-line tool that concentrates on installing and updating applications on Windows 10 devices. However, Microsoft Intune is a full-fledged, cloud-based endpoint management solution that offers centralized management and device control.
You can install software packages, updates, and patches from its Admin console. It also lets you schedule push-update, define update and patch management processes deployment strategies, and more.
It is a procedure of pinpointing and authorizing only reliable and approved apps to run on your company devices or network. It assists in preventing the execution of malicious code in your systems. Application whitelisting is an incredible approach to mitigate the threat of malware and other kinds of cyber-attacks.
You can shield your systems against known and unknown dangers and reduce the risk of corruption, theft, and data loss by only permitting trusted applications to run.
Microsoft 365 provides several security solutions for application whitelisting: Windows Defender suite, AppLocker, and Application Control. Windows Defender application control is an outstanding feature in Windows 10 that you can use to craft application control policies.
AppLocker empowers you to control which files and applications can operate on your Windows devices. Both tools aid IT administrators in establishing and enforcing control policies to permit only trusted applications to run on your devices.
Cyber attackers love to crack passwords; however, with multi-factor authentication MFA, you can add an additional layer of safety to your Microsoft 365 account.
By requiring added verification steps, such as a code sent to your device, factor authentication inhibits unapproved access even if your password is compromised. You can enable authentication methods for all user accounts in your company to considerably lower the risk of unapproved access.
In the current era of remote work, ensuring the security of devices that access your business data is necessary. With MDM, you can effortlessly manage and secure mobile devices used by your workforce to access your company data.
You can create policies to require secure passwords, enforce device encryption, and remotely remove data from stolen or lost devices, guaranteeing data protection even on the move.
Email is a prevalent target for cyber attackers, but Microsoft 365’s advanced threat protection protects against sophisticated email threats like malware and phishing.
You can enable features like safe attachments that examine email attachments for potential threats and safe links that scan URLs for malicious content. By using ATP, you can significantly decrease the risk of falling victim to cyber-attacks.
The administrator account comes with elevated privileges, options, and protection features, making them prime targets for hackers and cybercriminals.
Each admin should have a separate account for regular and daily use, and they should use it only as required to complete tasks linked with job functions.
MFA should be enabled on every admin account. Routinely monitoring them is vital to prevent them from granting unauthorized administrative privileges to people who don’t need them.
The traditional method of protecting organizations’ data assets and recourses behind a corporate firewall, accessible only to users in the company network and devices, is a thing of the past.
With Azure Conditional Access, you can benefit from an identity-focused control plane that leverages signals related to user identities to make access control decisions and implement organizational policies for a securer Office 365 environment.
Azure Information Protection enables you to safeguard documents, emails, and sensitive information shared with external collaborators. You can categorize, label, and protect data based on its sensitivity.
Plus, you can describe who can access it and what they can do with it. You can also monitor what happens to shared documents and take the access back, if required, to maintain control over your data.
Conclusion
By adhering to these eight steps, you can significantly enhance your business’s security and compliance with Microsoft 365. Remember that cyber security is a continuing process, and you must regularly assess and update your security measures to protect your company from evolving threats.
With Microsoft 365 as your trustworthy partner, you can concentrate on growing your organization with confidence and peace of mind. Interested in learning more about how you can guard your business using Office 365? Contact DHRP today to get a demo.
