Microsoft 365 Security: 5 Essential Ways to Protect Your Organization
More and more companies are jumping on the Microsoft 365 bandwagon, and it's not hard to see why. This popular suite of productivity tools, including Outlook, OneDrive, and SharePoint, makes collaboration easier than ever, no matter where you're working from. It's no wonder it's one of the most popular cloud-based suites on the market today.
Microsoft has definitely put in some effort to keep their cloud services secure, but there are still some vulnerabilities that need to be taken care of. To help you out, we've outlined the top five security concerns you should be aware of, and what you can do to protect yourself and your data.
Compromised of Global administrator accounts
Microsoft 365 has a centralized administration model to give Global administrators the highest level of control at the tenant level. Global administrators are the first ones created in a new environment and are responsible for setting everything up and granting access to future users. Unfortunately, these administrator accounts are also a prime target for cybercriminals.
If a Global admin account is compromised, the attacker can cause major damage by altering critical settings, removing security measures, leaving backdoors open, and accessing valuable data.
Take Action: Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all administrator accounts as soon as possible! These accounts are in the cloud, which means they're accessible from the internet, so MFA is the best way to make sure that hackers can't use them to do damage. If you don't secure your Global admin account with MFA, it's just a matter of time before someone takes advantage.
Abuse of User Privileges
It may seem convenient to give all of your users access to your accounts, but it's actually a big no-no in terms of cybersecurity. The more permissions you give your users, the higher the risk of data breaches. Whether it's through accidental exposure or malicious intent (like phishing or insider threats), giving users more privileges than they need opens the door to security concerns.
Additionally, when you have users with over-privileged access, you're making it easier for cybercriminals to do damage. For example, if a Global admin account is properly secured with MFA, an attacker would be just as happy to find a regular user account with no MFA and excessive permissions.
Take Action: So what can you do to protect your accounts? The answer is role-based access control (RBAC). By limiting privileges and following the principle of least privilege, you can reduce the risk of cyber threats exploiting your regular user accounts. Microsoft has built-in administrator roles that you can use to identify and manage who needs what permissions. Always make sure your users have the minimum amount of access they need to do their jobs, and regularly review your accounts to revoke any excessive permissions or deactivate accounts or roles that are no longer in use.
Disabled Mailbox Auditing
Before January 2019, Microsoft 365 didn't have mailbox auditing turned on by default. This means that if you set up your account before that date, you'll need to manually enable this feature. Just keep in mind that once you turn it on, you'll only be able to see events happening from that point forward. Unfortunately, there's no way to see what might have happened in the past.
Take Action: Turn on mailbox auditing in the Exchange Admin Center. Your email security should be a top priority, especially after setting up multi-factor authentication for all accounts. Enabling mailbox auditing will help you track and identify any suspicious activity in Exchange Online. For example, you can see when items are deleted or when someone sends too many emails in a short period of time. You can also set up alerts for any suspicious behavior, so you can quickly identify and stop any malicious activity.
Business Email Compromise (BEC)
Cybercriminals often use phishing, whaling, and social engineering tactics to trick people through email. These emails are like a gateway for attackers to unleash malware, viruses, ransomware, and other harmful things onto our systems. Although Microsoft 365 provides some level of protection against these attacks, it only takes one mistake from a user who falls for the trap for the threat to get in.
Take Action: As an administrator, take control of your organization's security in the Security & Compliance Center by editing and managing the default anti-malware policy and configuring the list of common attachment types to limit sendable and receivable file types.
Take Action: Protect your mailbox from threat actors who exfiltrate email by auto-forwarding it. Global admins should set up a mail flow rule to reject emails forwarded to external domains.
Take Action: Utilize Office Message Encryption, an encryption service available in your Microsoft 365 environment. With this tool, your organization's users can send and receive encrypted email with both internal and external recipients, ensuring that only the intended person can view the original content.
Take Action: Utilize mail flow rules, or transport rules, to effectively identify and control email messages within your organization. These rules enable administrators to take action on emails before they reach their destination, rather than after delivery. Mail flow rules give administrators the power to enforce various messaging policies, such as warning against ransomware, throughout the organization.
Lack of Visibility
Many organizations today are unable to monitor the security of their Microsoft 365 environment. This lack of visibility into their Microsoft 365 security has become one of the biggest blindspots in cybersecurity today. Monitoring the security of Microsoft 365 is just as crucial as securing traditional networks and endpoints, such as computers, servers, and firewalls. Neglecting to keep a close eye on the security of Microsoft 365 could result in disastrous consequences for any organization.
Take Action: Implement a Microsoft 365 monitoring service like Enterprotect 360. Enterprotect 360 Microsoft 365 Monitoring & Security delivers essential protection for organizations using Microsoft 365 by monitoring the environment 24/7/365 and detecting threats and risks that may go unnoticed. Backed by a security operations center staffed by seasoned security analysts, Enterprotect 360 minimizes dwell time and reduces the cost of cybersecurity.
Conclusion
Microsoft 365 is a popular suite of productivity tools that makes collaboration easier than ever. While Microsoft has taken steps to secure their cloud services, there are still some security concerns that need to be addressed. These include compromised Global administrator accounts, abuse of user privileges, disabled mailbox auditing, Business Email Compromise, and a lack of visibility. To protect yourself and your data, it's important to enable multi-factor authentication for all administrator accounts, limit user privileges with role-based access control, turn on mailbox auditing, utilize email encryption, and monitor the security of your Microsoft 365 environment. By being aware of these security concerns and taking action, you can ensure the safety and security of your data on the Microsoft 365 platform.
The Enterprotect 360 Cybersecurity platform is an essential tool for organizations looking to protect themselves from the growing threat of cyberattacks. With its powerful protection across endpoints, network, and cloud, integrated into a single, easy-to-use console, Enterprotect 360 provides Visibility into your Microsoft 365 Security, detecting vulnerabilities and potential threats before they cause harm. With 24/7/365 monitoring, you can be sure that your organization is protected against any suspicious activity. If you're looking to add Microsoft 365 Security to your overall cybersecurity strategy, Enterprotect 360 is the perfect solution. And why not sign up for a free trial today to see for yourself the many capabilities and benefits of this all-in-one solution. Take the first step in proactively securing your organization with Enterprotect 360.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The top five security concerns in Microsoft 365 are compromised Global administrator accounts, abuse of user privileges, disabled mailbox auditing, Business Email Compromise (BEC), and lack of security visibility.
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Global administrator accounts are a prime target for cybercriminals because they have the highest level of control at the tenant level and can cause major damage if compromised.
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You can secure your Global admin account in Microsoft 365 by enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA).
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It is a big no-no to give all users access to your accounts in Microsoft 365 because the more permissions you give your users, the higher the risk of data breaches.
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You can reduce the risk of cyber threats exploiting your regular user accounts in Microsoft 365 by limiting privileges and following the principle of least privilege with role-based access control (RBAC).
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You need to turn on mailbox auditing in Microsoft 365 to help you track and identify any suspicious activity in Exchange Online and protect your email security.
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Business Email Compromise (BEC) in Microsoft 365 refers to the use of phishing, whaling, and social engineering tactics to trick people through email and unleash malware, viruses, ransomware, and other harmful things onto systems.
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The steps to protect your mailbox from threat actors who exfiltrate email by auto-forwarding it in Microsoft 365 are to set up a mail flow rule to reject emails forwarded to external domains and utilize Office Message Encryption, an encryption service available in your Microsoft 365 environment.
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You can monitor the security of your Microsoft 365 environment by using a third-party security solution, regularly reviewing accounts and roles, and setting up alerts for suspicious behavior.
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You can enforce various messaging policies, such as warning against ransomware, throughout your organization in Microsoft 365 by utilizing mail flow rules, or transport rules, to effectively identify and control email messages.
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You can send and receive encrypted email with both internal and external recipients in Microsoft 365 by utilizing Office Message Encryption, an encryption service available in your Microsoft 365 environment.
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To take control of your organization's security in Microsoft 365, you should edit and manage the default anti-malware policy and configure the list of common attachment types in the Security & Compliance Center.