Enabling your employees to work remotely has become essential for business continuity in today’s climate. But they aren’t the only ones busy working from home…so are cybercriminals.
Malicious individuals are increasing their attacks on SMBs because traditional levels of defense are no match for a sophisticated data breach. Today, the average cost of an SMB data breach is $120,000—$269,000. This threat is escalated with employees working remotely.
Don’t fret just yet, we have a cost-effective solution for you.
Introducing Microsoft 365 Business Premium with built-in security
Microsoft 365 Business Premium is designed to protect businesses from today’s advancing threat landscape while providing access to your favorite business applications and Windows 10 – which are always up to date for the true “modern workplace.” Its security features include:
- Multi-Factor Authentication
- Conditional Access
- Self-Service Password Reset
- Exchange Online Protection and Archiving
- Microsoft Defender for Office 365 P1
- Selective Wipe with Intune
- Windows Defender Antivirus
- Windows BitLocker
- Azure Information Protection
- Azure AD Premium P1 licensing
- and Automatic Updates
With Microsoft 365, your team has never been more secure at home or on the go. In fact, Microsoft 365 Business Premium can help you in securing your remote workforce and cover the necessary data protection and compliance requirements for HIPAA and PCI.
Best of all, this level of security along with maintaining the latest Microsoft software applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more) and operating system is available in one budget-friendly monthly fee at $20.00 user/month.
Here is a breakdown of the security features and how they protect you and your staff
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Microsoft 365 utilizes Multi-Factor Authentication, or MFA, to help block 99.9% of account hacks. MFA is the process of requiring multiple forms of evidence that ‘you are who you say you are’ when logging into your account, often something you know and something you have. This level of security is similar to logging into a banking app, wherein you typically have to enter a username and password before being prompted via text or email with a one-time code that you have to enter on the next screen.
For example, Microsoft Outlook will ask you for your password upon login, then send a prompt to your mobile device via the Authenticator app to ask you to approve the login. Microsoft 365 can also remember your device, so you will be prompted with MFA less frequently.
We recommend turning on MFA for all your non-Microsoft accounts as well for more comprehensive password security.
Conditional Access
Conditional Access is a tool within Active Directory that enforces organizational policies based on user, location and device identity. Enforcement is performed through multi-factor authentication triggered when a user requests access to an application or document. When global admins build Conditional Access policies, they can take into account a series of identity signals including user/group membership, IP location information, device, application, and more. This ensures your employees are accessing applications and data appropriately for their role.
Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR)
Self-Service Password Reset, or SSPR, is a special feature in Active Directory that allows users to reset their own passwords. Should an employee accidentally lock themselves out of an account by forgetting a password, SSPR gives the user access to reset the password and resolve the account without interruption of IT staff. IT administrators also have access to password management activity reports so they can monitor password resets within their organization.
The major benefits of enabling Self-Service Password Reset for your business include reduction in IT support costs, intuitive experience for users, flexibility and security for administrators, and robust auditing and tracking organization-wide.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365
With Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 provides an added layer of protection against sophisticated email and website threats like phishing scams and zero-day malware. This solution will also monitor SharePoint, OneDrive and Microsoft Teams while providing real-time reporting to system administrators. The real-time threat detection efforts allow your team to investigate and respond to threats with speed.
Windows Defender Antivirus
Windows Defender Antivirus is designed to help your organization reduce its attack surface against sophisticated malware. Because today’s cybercriminals are constantly advancing and expanding their threat techniques, traditional antivirus technology is no longer enough. The Defender Antivirus combines attack surface reduction controls, endpoint network protection, exploit protection and controlled folder access to rise to the challenge of emerging threats. It’s also backed by the world-class security team at Microsoft and the Microsoft Intelligent Security Graph for rapid threat detection and response.
Windows BitLocker
BitLocker for Windows 10 is a drive encryption feature that protects your data from theft or exposure due to lost or stolen devices. Utilizing multi-factor authentication, the startup process on a device can be locked until the user enters the correct PIN or inserts a removable device that contains a startup key. Recent updates to BitLocker allow you to encrypt and recover your device using Azure Active Directory.
Azure Information Protection
Similar to the Data Loss Prevention policy, Azure Information Protection is another layer of control for protecting your organization’s sensitive information. It allows you to add classification and protection protocols that stick with your data for persistent protection no matter where it gets stored or who’s given access. The deeper controls allow you to collaborate more securely with others anytime, anywhere.
Azure AD Premium P1 Licensing
An Azure AD Premium P1 license gives your users the benefit of cloud app discovery to help you discover shadow IT, Application Proxy, dynamic groups, password-less authentication and more, so you can rest easy knowing their remote access is secure. Because identity and access are managed entirely from the cloud, Azure AD serves as a hub for ensuring your Microsoft 365 apps and services are secure from anywhere down to the user.
Automatic Updates
The beauty of using a cloud service like Microsoft 365 means you will always stay up-to-date with the latest Microsoft 365 Apps and Windows operating system. The automatic updates included in your subscription deliver fixes, software updates, security features and more – all applied in the background without any user intervention. If you want more control over app update installations, you can use portal features like the Office Deployment Tool to change your settings.
Ready to migrate to Microsoft 365?
Arctic IT has the knowledge and experience you need from a technology partner for your Microsoft 365 migration. As a Microsoft Gold Partner, we will ensure your project is executed successfully from start to finish and beyond. Reach out to [email protected] today to get started.
By Phillip Jackson, CIO at Arctic IT