5 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Microsoft 365 Security

Microsoft 365 is a comprehensive cloud productivity suite that includes many different apps, services, and features. Some of these are fairly well known among users and businesses; others are hidden away in sub-menus or aren't accessible unless you know about them via a support agent or trial. Microsoft 365 security is one of those features. Though it doesn't get much publicity, it's one of the most important parts of MS 365 security and can significantly reduce the risk of attacks on your organization. It may be complicated, but there are lots of things you should know about Microsoft 365 security to keep your business safe from cyber-attacks.

1. Don't ignore the basics

One of the best ways to keep your Microsoft 365 tenant safe is by sticking to the basics.

It is important to limit access to protocols and make sure that you are only allowing the ones that you need. This will help in preventing hackers from accessing your network. You should also set up anti-phishing and anti-spam features so that you can control what kind of emails are coming into your mailboxes and prevent phishing scams from taking place. Next, it is important to set up link scanning so that you can scan links before opening them and make sure they are safe before clicking on them. Lastly, set up anti-malware / attachment scanning. Attachments are still one of the easiest ways a hacker can get access to your environment.

2. Setup alerting

It is important to be aware of any potential security breaches in the workplace. Alerting is a good way to make sure that you don't miss anything important.

Alerts can be set up for different things. For example, you might want to get an alert every time someone logs into your Microsoft 365 environment from a suspicious location, or when there's a new malware detected on one of your devices.

Alerts can also be set up for certain keywords in emails that are related to your company's work and are not relevant to the outside world.

Nervous about a ton of alerts filling your inbox? Set up a shared mailbox and deliver the alerts there.

3. Secure your devices

When it comes to securing your devices, there are many different ways you can do so. One way is to make sure that all software is fully patched. Another is to verify that your devices are running anti-malware and have a security suite installed. Lastly, one of the most important things you can do is verify that your device has been configured securely.

4. Setup conditional access policies

To reduce the risk of unauthorized access, you can set up conditional access policies. This will limit where users can log in from, limit the devices they can use to access M365 and require MFA. Conditional access policies are a fantastic tool that is typically underutilized.

5. User Training

Phishing is a major threat to the security of your Microsoft 365 environment. It's a type of scam that tricks users into giving away sensitive information like passwords and credit card numbers. The most common form of phishing is an email that looks like it's from a legitimate company but contains an attachment or link that will download malware on your computer.

This type of attack is called "spear phishing" which means the attacker specifically targets you, or someone in your organization. They may use the information they've collected about you to make the email seem more legitimate.

Teach your users how to spot a suspicious email and what to do if they get one. Also show them how to protect themselves with phishing simulators, which can help train your employees not to click on suspicious links in emails and verify the sender before opening any attachments or clicking any links in emails.