MICROSOFT 365 BUSINESS PREMIUM SECURITY FEATURES: A MUST-HAVE

By Andreas Hadjikyriacou – Sales Engineer

Microsoft 365 Business Premium is much more than just a collection of Office 365 apps. Microsoft Cloud solution is a fully integrated cloud-based solution that brings together Microsoft Office productivity apps, and collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams with cutting-edge built-in security and sophisticated device management capabilities. In addition, the cloud-based solution it’s designed to provide improved visibility into a company’s digital presence across devices such as phones, tablets, and computers.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE SECURITY FEATURES INCLUDED IN MICROSOFT 365 BUSINESS PREMIUM

The rise of new ransomware models as a top threat to organizations as well as the inevitable shift to a work-from-home environment for employees has forced organizations to look for ways to boost their cybersecurity defenses and IT resilience. Businesses need solutions that protect data as well as employees from cyber threats while keeping them connected and productive regardless of their physical location.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium is a subscription service that gives your organization the security and convenience of running its operations in the cloud, with Microsoft taking care of the IT for you. It is arguably the productivity tool that offers the most valuable advantages for SMBs (300 employees or fewer). Even though it may have been challenging for small to medium-sized businesses to implement a completely remote or hybrid workforce in the past, Microsoft 365 Business Premium and its solutions now present a lifeline in this continually transitional and ever-transforming age of working.

The built-in security in Microsoft 365 Business Premium is divided into three categories: threat protection, data protection, and device management. These key areas combine to provide a coherent and complete cyber threat defense that strengthens companies' security posture and protects sensitive data from unauthorized access and malicious online attacks.

THREAT PROTECTION

Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes capabilities such as Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to assist organizations in combating ransomware and cyberattacks.

Advanced Threat Protection (ATP): Advanced Threat Protection is a cloud-based email filtering solution that uses artificial intelligence to defend enterprises from a variety of cyber-attacks. ATP Safe Links guards against harmful embedded URLs in emails or documents, whereas ATP Safe Attachments guards against infected attachments or documents.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): With millions of fraudulent sign-in attempts on Microsoft's cloud services every day, deploying MFA has rapidly become one prerequisite for conducting business online. According To Microsoft, accounts that adopted MFA are 99.9% less likely to be compromised. Microsoft 365 Business Premium has built-in MFA, which requires workers to submit a second form of identification, such as a verification code or physical token, to prove their identity before gaining access to cloud services.

DATA PROTECTION

The data protection capabilities of Microsoft 365 Business Premium enable organizations to safeguard their business-critical data and ensure that only authorized individuals have access to it. These data protection features include data loss prevention (DLP) policies, exchange online archives, and message encryption.

Data Loss Prevention (DLP): DLP policies assist organizations to identify and protect business-sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, credit card details, medical records, and other confidential data. Microsoft 365 Business Premium gives administrators the ability to manually design and execute a data loss prevention policy that is specific to their organization's security requirements.

Exchange Online Archives: Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes Exchange Online Archiving, a cloud-based archiving, and data recovery service, that is compatible with Microsoft Exchange or Exchange Online. This feature assists organizations with archiving, compliance, regulatory, and eDiscovery concerns by offering sophisticated archiving options such as holds and data redundancy. Businesses may use archiving to provide safe, long-term cloud storage that is in line with regulatory compliance standards.

Message Encryption: The built-in message encryption in Microsoft 365 Business Premium combines encryption and access rights features to ensure that only intended receivers may read the message's contents. Message encryption works with all major email providers such as Outlook, Yahoo, Gmail, and many others.

DEVICE MANAGEMENT

The device management tools of Microsoft 365 Business Premium provide administrators with the visibility and power they need to prohibit or allow access to employees and their registered devices. These device management capabilities include conditional access, mobile device management (MDM), BitLocker encryption, and automated updates.

Conditional Access: Microsoft 365 Business Premium provides the ability for organizations to use conditional access policies to restrict access depending on a variety of circumstances. These criteria include the time of day, the type of device, the location, and others.

Mobile Device Management (MDM): MDM provides organizations the ability to create and enforce personal device rules to help with data loss prevention and management of employee mobile devices. Admins can restore a device to its original settings before handing it over to a new employee. They can also remotely delete lost or stolen devices to eliminate all critical corporate data. Compliance profiles enable organizations to impose security settings on devices that access company data, such as a PIN code requirement.

BitLocker Encryption: BitLocker Encryption is an extra layer of security that encrypts data on a device using a Trusted Platform Module (TPM Chip). This way a third party cannot read the data unless the BitLocker key is present.

Automated Updates: Administrators can leverage and configure automatic updates to ensure the latest security features and updates are applied to all employee devices on a defined schedule.

IBSCY Ltd as a certified Gold Partner of Microsoft in Cyprus offers Microsoft 365 packages to meet all your business’s unique needs. We are eligible to sell, install and configure Microsoft products across Cyprus and internationally. Our certified employees can ensure Microsoft 365 Business is professionally implemented, managed, and customized. Get in touch with us to discuss your inquiries about Microsoft 365.

Andreas Hadjikyriacou is working as a Sales Engineer with IBSCY LTD. He is a member of the pre-sales team responsible for small and medium-sized projects. Among his responsibilities are designing and selling total IT solutions to qualified prospects, developing new and recurring business opportunities, sales lead generation, qualification, progression, and closure.