Office 365 Security Controls. What Do Businesses Need to Know?

Office 365 Security Controls. What Do Businesses Need to Know?

Microsoft Office 365 is the go-to productivity software for businesses across the UK. Whether you use it for communication (Teams), file storage and access (SharePoint and OneDrive) or document creation (Word, Excel and PowerPoint), we’d wager it plays an important role in your day-to-day operations. 

You’re probably aware of most of Office 365’s features, but you probably aren't using one set of controls to their fullest: Office 365’s security controls.

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about Office 365 security, which features you should implement and how a cyber security expert like Method can help.
 

Isn’t Office 365 secure out of the box?

• Enforcing Azure Multi-Factor Authentication registration for all users
• Forcing administrators to use Multi-Factor Authentication
• Blocking Legacy Authentication protocols
• Requiring all users to perform Multi-Factor Authentication when needed
• Protecting privilege access
  
  

However, the software has plenty of additional features and protocols that businesses can leverage to improve protection. Unfortunately, Microsoft does not enable most of these features by default. They require manual configuration to tailor them to the specific risk profiles of your business. 

Which Office 365 security features should I implement?

Below are 10 of the most important Office 365 security features you can implement to protect your data from internal and external threats. 

1. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor authentication (MFA, for short) adds an additional layer of protection by requiring users to verify their identity through multiple methods. These methods include SMS, email and the Microsoft Authenticator app. MFA significantly reduces the risk of unauthorised access, even if your passwords are compromised. 

2. Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

Office 365’s Data Loss Prevention policies let you monitor and safeguard sensitive information. These policies ensure confidential information like customer credit card numbers or contact information can’t be shared with unauthorised users. The system automatically blocks emails containing this information, for example, or notifies when requests to share sensitive data are made. 

3. Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)

Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) is a type of cybersecurity solution that provides additional protection against cybersecurity attacks like phishing, ransomware and malware. In Office 365, these features come under the Microsoft Defender umbrella. This program works in the background to automatically detect suspicious content and prevent it from reaching end users. 

4. Information Rights Management (IRM)

Information rights management (IRM) is a type of cybersecurity policy that controls how employees access sensitive files. You can apply various policies that limit actions like forwarding, copying, or printing.

5. Mobile Device Management (MDM)

Mobile device management (MDM) is a cybersecurity service that lets you secure access to Office 365 data on mobile devices. Administrators can automatically enforce security policies like password requirements, remotely wipe lost devices and restrict access based on how compliant devices are.  

6. Data Encryption

Office 365 lets you implement encryption protocols to protect data in transit and at rest. Even if malicious actors intercept your data, it will be unreadable without encryption keys

 7. Email Encryption

Email encryption ensures that only intended recipients can view sensitive email content. You can use Office 365’s message encryption to send encrypted emails directly from your employee’s accounts, making secure communication effortless.

8. Conditional Access

Use Office 365’s conditional access policies to restrict access to files and applications based on various criteria, including a user’s location, device compliance, and login behaviour. You can automatically blog logins from high-risk regions or require MFA for access from unfamiliar devices.

9. Data Retention Policies

Data retention policies make it easier to manage how your business stores and deletes data. Use Office 365’s policy settings to assign retention settings at the container level, which will automatically be inherited by all content in that container — for example, all items in a SharePoint site will have the same retention settings.

10. Malware Protection

Office 365 has a range of built-in anti-malware tools that can automatically scan attachments and files to detect and block harmful software. Additional features like Safe Attachments add even more protection by checking email attachments in a safe virtual environment before delivering them to your employees. 

Let Method fine-tune your Office 365 security controls

Office 365 is a powerful platform that offers businesses an incredible range of collaboration and productivity tools. It’s not impervious to cyber attacks, however. Failing to implement the security controls we’ve listed above can leave your business vulnerable to data breaches, phishing attacks, data loss and compliance violations. 

It’s not enough just to switch these controls on, however. Misconfiguring them can do more harm than good. Without proper implementation, businesses risk exposing themselves to avoidable cyber threats and compliance violations.

At Method, we specialise in helping businesses optimise their Office 365 environments for maximum security. From configuring MFA and DLP policies to ensuring compliance with industry regulations, our team is here to guide you every step of the way. 

Contact us today to secure your Office 365 environment and protect your business from cyber threats.