Microsoft Office 365 has become one of the most widely used collaboration tools for many businesses around the world. This is due to the familiarity, convenience, and functionality that the platform gives its users. The pandemic made it even more apparent when businesses had to close their offices and remote work was enforced globally. However, cyber criminals are aware of this and are actively looking for ways to exploit user ignorance for their gain.
Below are a few security tips to help you and your company improve your Office 365 security:
Enable Device Protection
Users of Office 365 will agree that one of the best features it has is its mobility. Being able to access your files, collaborate with others, and checking business emails on any device is incredibly convenient. However, this can lead to security risks in the long run if devices are not properly secured.
Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based service that focuses on mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM). It helps your organization properly manage and secure your users’ devices, whether or not they are using company devices or using their personal devices (BYOD). One example of its capabilities is preventing emails from being sent to people outside your organization. It also allows your corporate data to be secured even if they are on a personal device, keeping it isolated from personal data.
Microsoft Intune Capabilities
- Option to be purely cloud or co-managed with configuration manager and Intune.
- Customize rules for both personal and organization-owned devices when accessing corporate data and networks.
- Protect your company information by controlling the way users access and share information.
- Ensure security compliance for all devices and apps
Set up Email Security
Attackers usually take the path of least resistance when targeting your network which is usually your users. Phishing attacks have gone up since the pandemic since users are more vulnerable outside your network. Making use of the default Office 365 anti-phishing capabilities can help your company monitor and block known campaigns to lessen the risk of a breach. These functions can be enabled through the Microsoft Defender in the settings window.
If your company would like a complete email security solution for your Office 365 defense, Trend Micro Email Security for Office 365 can help. The Trend Micro solution uses an optimum blend of cross-generational threat techniques, like machine learning, sandbox analysis, data loss prevention (DLP), and other methods to stop all types of email threats.
Trend Micro Email Security Capabilities
- Stops phishing and spam by examining email senders, analyzing email content and malicious URL
- Protects against BEC by examining email behavior while allowing you to define priority users for BEC protection
- Detects and blocks advanced threats using machine learning and sandbox analysis
Turn on Multifactor Authentication (MFA)
Enabling the MFA capabilities of Office 365 adds an additional layer of security to avoid data breaches. By verifying each user that requests for access, lessens the chance that any malicious attacker can get into your network. Office 365 MFA can be enabled for individual accounts or through policies for all users. Individual account option makes users go through authentication on their login while policy-based MFA can be customized based on the user’s role or permission levels. The policy-based option is not available on all licenses.
RSA SecurID is another option if you are looking to improve your MFA capabilities for Office 365. With a native Office 365 integration, you can better secure your network with a variety of different authentication methods. The below authentication methods are also available whether or not the user has internet access:
- Hardware tokens
- Soft tokens through the mobile app
- Biometrics through the mobile app
- Tokens received through Email or SMS
For further security form the RSA solution has machine learning for its authentication solution. However, it is not included in the basic edition.
Contact us at marketing@www.ctlink.com.ph to learn more on how you can better secure your Office 365 suite today!