Microsoft 365 Security Best Practices to Implement

17 APR 2018

To make the most of Microsoft’s security capabilities, you should follow some Microsoft 365 security best practices. As innovation gets more mind-boggling and instilled into our lives, contemplates have demonstrated, consumers are progressively feeling overwhelmed about how to secure themselves.

Subsequently, how would you start to protect your information? Some data is also confidential; not exclusively would you like to lose, neither you need others to access or view data without approval.

In the event that it comes to Microsoft 365, you might have a question in your mind like Is Microsoft 365 secure for your data?

Let’s start with the basics.

Microsoft 365 is a standout amongst the most secure collaboration suites in the world, and it is proven and certified by various compliance areas, for example, HIPAA, FedRAMP/FISMA, ISO 27001/27018, and more. While Microsoft gives their clients a lot of tools to decrease the risk of data and security breaches.

Security is a tremendous need for Organizations. Microsoft office 365 has built-in security features including empowered encryption, standard reinforcements, and “hard passwords” prerequisites to guarantee information security. And although Microsoft spends $20 billion over the next five years on cybersecurity research and development, you need to apply critical Microsoft Office 365 security best practices to fully protect your information.

While Microsoft 365 is secure, you shouldn’t depend on third-party applications alone. Organizations work on various procedures, work processes, and strategies that manage who gets and sends delicate messages and information. Microsoft 365’s default security settings don’t automatically protect your business. You have to configure them to fit your association.

Secure your business with these Microsoft 365 security practices.

Create a Strong Password Policy

Having a Strong password policy is essential to ensure the security of your organization’s sensitive data. A best practice password policy should combine the right security settings with client education. IT administrators should implement the following measures:

Prohibit the use of common passwords like “abcdefg” “123456,” and “password.”
Set a minimum password length of 8 characters.
Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) as an additional layer of protection (see below).

To supplement your password policy, it’s crucial to educate your clients on the importance of not reusing their organization passwords elsewhere. Weak employee passwords increase the likelihood of data breaches and can compromise your organization’s confidential information.

Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

When it comes to Microsoft 365 security best practices, implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) is crucial. MFA adds an extra layer of security to a strong password strategy by requiring users to verify their identity with a phone call, text message, or app notification in addition to their password.

Setting up MFA on a user-by-user basis complements a Strong password policy and helps ensure that only authorized individuals can access sensitive data. MFA can also check a user’s login location, whether they are signing in from their workplace IP address or a public Wi-Fi network like a local Starbucks, providing an additional level of security. By implementing MFA as part of your Microsoft 365 security best practices, you can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access to your organization’s data and systems.

Create Data Loss Prevention Policies (DLP)

Implementing data loss prevention (DLP) policies through the Microsoft 365 Security and Compliance Centre is an effective way to safeguard sensitive data across Microsoft 365. This approach offers several benefits,

• Identify sensitive information across many locations, such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive for Business
• Prevent the inadvertent sharing of sensitive information
• Help clients figure out how to remain consistent without intruding on their work process

Use Microsoft 365 Cloud App Security

Microsoft 365 Security best practices are essential for safeguarding your organization’s data and systems from cyber threats. One crucial tool to utilize is Microsoft 365 Cloud App Security, which allows you to monitor suspicious activities within your Microsoft 365 environment. With this tool, you can define strategies to trigger alarms, monitor how information is accessed and utilized, and investigate any unsafe user activity. By using Microsoft 365 Cloud App Security, you can proactively address any security issues and prevent potential data breaches. Additionally, this tool can be purchased as an add-on for organizations with different Microsoft 365 plans. Overall, Microsoft 365 Security offers a comprehensive approach to ensuring the security and privacy of your organization’s sensitive data and systems.

Use Microsoft 365 secure score

Microsoft secure score suggests that what you can do to further reduce risk. It makes sense of what Microsoft 365 services you’re utilizing (like OneDrive, SharePoint, and Exchange) then looks at your settings and activities and compares them to a pattern set up by Microsoft. You’ll get a score in light of how adjusted you are with best security practices.

Microsoft 365 security best practices are only a bit of the security puzzle. Securing your business takes steady carefulness and technique to ensure you’re protected now, as well as your business scales and develops later on.

Audit your Microsoft 365 environment

You can check the unified audit log in the Microsoft 365 compliance centre for any unusual user behaviour, including mailbox activity. As was previously indicated, are not activated by default and are only kept for a maximum of one year. Use a third-party auditing service if you have to comply to requirements that call for a lengthier retention time. Event data from many sources, including both on-premises and cloud environments, will be combined via a third-party solution.

Azure Information Protection

The most important data is frequently kept in Microsoft Office documents in many Microsoft 365 setups. Azure Information Protection gives us the ability to prevent email forwarding, document sharing, and document storage. It basically encrypts the document, and only specially chosen, approved employees are able to decrypt its contents.

Use Separate Admin Accounts

As an admin, your Microsoft 365 account has elevated privileges, making it a valuable target for cybercriminals. To protect your account and your company’s data, it’s important to follow best practices for admin account usage. Admins should have separate user accounts for regular, everyday use – only using their admin account as necessary to complete tasks associated with job functions. Creating an emergency access admin account can also be helpful in case a problem arises. Additionally, assigning Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for admins can help further secure your account.

Train your employees

Another important Microsoft 365 security best practices is train employees, human error is one of the biggest security threats facing organizations today. In fact, a report by Stanford showed that 88 percent of data breaches are the result of an employee mistake. That’s why organizations invest in security and awareness training for Microsoft 365 – to reduce the risk of human error. But it’s important to remember that mistakes can still occur, so organizations must plan ahead and prepare for any potential failures.

Use Microsoft 365 message encryption

Protect your confidential emails with M365 Message Encryption – an included and easy-to-use feature of Microsoft 365. With this powerful tool, you’ll be able to send and receive encrypted emails and make sure only intended recipients have access to the message content.

Azure Conditional Access

One of the Microsoft 365 security best practices is to protect your M365 tenant with Azure AD Conditional Access! This powerful feature allows you to safeguard your tenant based on conditions like location, IP address, and application usage. You can even block access to certain departments in case of suspicious activity.

Azure Identity Protection

To ensure maximum security, use Azure Identity Protection. This premium Azure AD feature detects potential risks connected to your Azure AD Users. It comes with pre-built set of rules and analyses user behavior to detect any unusual activity, allowing you to quickly block any suspicious users.

Conclusion

Implementing Microsoft 365 security best practices are essential to ensure the safety and security of your organization’s data and systems. By following the guidelines provided by Microsoft, you can reduce the risk of cyberattacks and other security breaches. Implementing multi-factor authentication, enforcing strong passwords, regularly reviewing, and managing permissions, and educating employees about security best practices are all critical steps that can significantly enhance your organization’s security posture. By prioritizing security and continuously reviewing and improving your security measures, you can protect your organization’s valuable assets and maintain the trust of your customers and stakeholders.

At Star Knowledge, we’ve helped organizations of all sizes deploy, protect and manage their Microsoft 365 environments. In case you’re searching for an accomplished Microsoft 365 consultant, contact us with our specialist today.