Have you ever wondered if your organization’s data is truly secure in Microsoft 365? Do you want to learn how to better protect the information stored in OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, and Exchange? Whether you’re a business or any other organization, safeguarding sensitive information about your clients, employees, and stakeholders is critical.
A feature of Microsoft 365 called Microsoft Secure Score helps organizations understand and enhance their security posture.
What is Microsoft Secure Score?
Microsoft Secure Score provides a security rating that reflects your organization’s overall cybersecurity health. It evaluates the measures you have implemented to protect your users, devices, and data. Factors like multi-factor authentication, data encryption, and security policies influence your score.
How Does Microsoft Secure Score Improve Cybersecurity?
Microsoft Secure Score helps organizations assess their existing security posture and identify areas for improvement. With unified visibility, it provides actionable insights across all Microsoft 365 workloads, helping businesses and other organizations strengthen their defenses.
How to Utilize Microsoft Secure Score Effectively
Follow these steps to make the most of this powerful tool:
1. Find Your Microsoft Secure Score
- Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center using your global or security admin credentials.
- View your current score and a breakdown of areas where security improvements can be made.
- The tool analyzes your Office 365 and Azure AD configurations and assigns a score based on Microsoft’s security best practices.
2. Evaluate Your Security Posture
- Review your current security status for infrastructure, identities, devices, data, and applications.
- Compare your score to industry benchmarks to gauge your standing against similar organizations.
- Monitor changes in your security score over time to track improvements.
3. Identify and Address Security Gaps
- Review the recommended actions and prioritize the most critical security risks.
- Follow embedded guidelines to mitigate vulnerabilities and implement security best practices.
- Incorporate security enhancements into your organization’s IT strategy.
4. Enhance Security Without Disrupting Productivity
- Use integrated workflow features to evaluate the impact of each security recommendation.
- Implement improvements step by step using the tool’s guidance.
- Strengthen your security posture while maintaining operational efficiency.
5. Communicate Security Improvements to Leadership
- Track security progress using historical reports.
- Identify any security reversals and address them proactively.
- Present quantifiable data to leadership teams to demonstrate improvements and gain support for further security investments.
What is a Good Microsoft Secure Score?
A Microsoft Secure Score of 47% or higher is considered strong, compared to the average of 21% across organizations. However, the goal is not just to increase the score but to make informed security enhancements that do not hinder productivity.
Case Studies: Organizations Improving Security with Microsoft Secure Score
Global Organization: A well-known international organization used Microsoft Secure Score to evaluate and strengthen its cybersecurity measures. By following the tool’s recommendations, they improved their score by 50% in six months, significantly enhancing data protection.
Technology Company: A mid-sized tech company leveraged Microsoft Secure Score to secure its remote workforce. By implementing multi-factor authentication, updating security policies, and encrypting sensitive data, they increased their score by 30% in three months while ensuring business continuity.
Conclusion
Regardless of industry or size, organizations must prioritize cybersecurity to protect sensitive data. Microsoft Secure Score is a valuable tool that provides insights, recommendations, and benchmarks to help businesses and other organizations strengthen their security posture. By regularly assessing and improving security measures, organizations can reduce risks and enhance resilience against cyber threats.
