10 Effective Security Measures to Bolster Your Microsoft 365 Data Protection 

10 Effective Security Measures to Bolster Your Microsoft 365 Data Protection 

Make the most of your Microsoft 365 apps by adopting all the appropriate security measures. Microsoft 365 is an outstanding business tool for enhancing productivity, collaboration, and managing teamwork. It provides users with seamless communication functionality, robust scalability, and supports remote work. It also has a wide array of defence mechanisms to protect users from potential hacking attempts.

However, this does not mean that you should let your guard down. Access to sensitive data, malware intrusion, and various system vulnerabilities can be a burden to any business. Operation downtime, disconnections, and loss of customer confidence can severely impact business continuity.

Prevent potential hackers by taking your Microsoft 365 data protection to the next level. Here are 11 of the most effective security measures to help protect your data.

11 Effective Security Measures for Microsoft 365

#1 Activate Multi-Factor Authentication

Most Microsoft 365 users are still using a single authentication method to log into their account. Using a username and password is no longer sufficient as there are tools that can automatically generate password combinations to infiltrate accounts. To add to that, a lot of users use simple passwords for ease of remembering which makes it even easier to infiltrate a business.

Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) can significantly boost the security of your access to Microsoft 365. Use one-time passphrase or other factors to verify user identity which makes it harder for anyone with a malicious intention to access accounts. Setting up MFA is simple and would only take a few steps.

Additionally, you should also activate Security Defaults, which is a Microsoft feature that enforces MFA in each administrator account. To ensure that every account sets up MFA, you can also implement it for all accounts without administrator permissions.

#2 Session Timeouts

It is easy to forget to log out of your account on your laptop, computer, or mobile device when you leave your workstation or desk. This can easily grant hackers unlimited access to enterprise accounts and compromise your data security.

Using session timeout into internal networks and accounts automatically logs users out after a certain inactivity period. This prevents potential hackers from accessing sensitive information when any work devices are not logged out.

#3 Avoid Sharing Calendar in Public

The calendar sharing function facilitates synchronisation with your colleagues and associates. However, this can also give people with malicious intentions to gain insights into your activities and your organisation. An example would be exposing off days of IT personnel that could be used to launch an attack or malware.

#4 Activate Advanced Threat Protection

Advanced threat protection (ATP) recognises and prevents threats that can bypass antivirus and firewall defences. The ATP solution gets real-time updates on databases so that administrators can understand the threats and integrate the data into their analysis. ATP notifies you of attacks, their severity and the methods that stopped them. It relies on machine learning and databases of suspicious sites for malware delivery or phishing attempts.

Microsoft 365 Advanced Threat Protection offers your organisation protection from unknown malware and viruses with a cloud-based email filtering service. This feature provides zero-day protection and safeguards against phishing and unsafe links in real-time.

#5 Leverage Policy Alerts

Microsoft 365 lets you set up your policy notifications in the compliance centre according to your security needs. The system can send out tips on sending sensitive information out of your office network. These warnings can help educate your team on safe data sharing methods and prevent potential data leaks.

#6 Secure Your Mobile Access

Your employees commonly use mobile devices to access work email, contacts, documents, and calendars, since they often work remotely. As a result, solutions to secure their mobile devices should be your top priority when safeguarding files.

Install Microsoft 365 mobile management features to set up Microsoft 365 fencing, authorities, restrictions, and wiping procedures. These are an effortless way to manage your security policy, access to systems, and protection from theft or loss.

On your network, legacy protocols do not allow most security features that Microsoft 365 offers to protect against intrusion, such as two-factor authentication. That makes them ideal targets for attackers who wish to target your business.

Nonetheless, the best guideline to follow is to disable legacy protocols to lower the risk of unwanted attacks on your network. Restrict the use of these protocols to those who only need it for older email accounts.

#8 Integrate Role-Based Access Control

Access control is a convenient security feature used to handle sensitive information across your business. You can use this application to limit the people who can access sensitive files within your office.

#9 Rely on Unified Audit Log

Unified audit log (UAL) compiles and review data from different Microsoft 365 services, such as Azure Active Directory, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams. The administrator can get insights into malicious activity and organizational rules for established conduct.

Your Microsoft 365 suite can also be enhanced by integrating your existing logs with your SIEM tool. After this takes place, you can view the logs and input them right into your current log monitoring and management solution for enhanced security.

#10 Email Encryption

Email encryption tools should be the last line of defence against your personal data being accessed by cybercriminals. If hackers can access your email messages, exceptional encryption software will make them unreadable. Figuring out what kinds of encryption your email service uses and why you use it could be instrumental in countering these attacks.

Do not leave the safety of your company’s data up to chance

Microsoft 365 is a great productivity tool. However, your smooth-going experience may lead you to forget about protecting your data. Doing so can leave your system vulnerable to hackers. Apply all the defence mechanisms in this article to decrease security threats to your business.

We can help you further ensure the security of your Microsoft 365 apps. Contact us for an obligation-free chat on how to keep threats at bay.