The Rackspace Technology guide to protecting your business with Microsoft 365

Jason Fox

woman displaying graphs on a tablet device

 

In today’s hyper-connected world, protecting your business from internal and external cybersecurity threats is a never-ending battle. Cybercriminals and other bad actors continue to exploit holes in technology, software and company processes to obtain personal and confidential information, regardless of business size.

Fortunately, Microsoft 365 provides the policies and tools you need to strengthen your company’s defenses — in a single integrated solution.

 

Protect against insider threats

In a recent survey conducted by Microsoft, 73% of CISOs indicate that their organization has encountered leaks of sensitive data and data spillage in the last 12 months, and that they plan to spend more on insider risk technology due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the best tools for protecting your company’s data internally is OneDrive for Business. You can set OneDrive’s controls to encrypt data, share data with approved devices, limit external sharing permissions and prevent unauthorized employees from gaining access to documents.

You can also safeguard sensitive business information by setting up a data loss prevention policy in the Microsoft 365 Security & Compliance Center. This enables you to identify, monitor and automatically protect data across Microsoft 365, including Exchange Online, SharePoint® Online and OneDrive for Business.

If you’re looking to restrict data access, you can set authorization, encryption and identity policies with Azure Rights Management. This works with computers, tablets and phones so documents and emails across all devices can be read only by the intended recipient. You can even enable capabilities like Do Not Forward and Company Confidential.

 

Protect against lost or stolen devices

While lost or stolen devices aren’t the major cause of security incidents, they resulted in 4% of breaches last year. Microsoft 365 helps businesses defend against these security incidents with:

  • Mobile Device Management for Microsoft 365
  • Exchange ActiveSync
  • Azure Information Protection
     

With these tools, you can set access rules and security policies for iPhones, iPads, Android, MacOS and Windows devices used by your company’s licensed Microsoft 365 users. Not only can you safeguard your company’s emails, documents, Outlook contacts and more, but if a mobile device is lost or stolen, you can selectively or fully wipe the device.

You can also apply encryption, identity and authorization policies to protect the data stored on a smartphone, tablet and laptop so only authorized persons can access the data — not a team of thieves working the busy curbside of an international airport.

 

Protect against phishing emails, ransomware, spam and other malware

In 2019, Microsoft blocked over 13 billion malicious and suspicious emails, 1 billion of which were URL-based phishing threats. With Microsoft 365, you get an arsenal of malware-killing tools and policies to help protect your business, such as:

  • Exchange Online Protection
  • Safe Links
  • Safe Attachments
     

Guard your employees’ email inboxes in real time, protecting them against malware, viruses and spam. It scans both inbound and outbound emails, plus their attachments, for known and unknown (i.e., suspicious) malware. It not only scans zipped files for malware but also scans multiple layers of zipped files within zipped files.

With Defender for Office 365’s SafeLinks feature, you can protect against malicious URLs — even those hiding within seemingly safe links. And with SafeAttachments, your email, Teams, and SharePoint file attachments and uploads will be protected against known malware and will execute any unfamiliar attachments in controlled Azure detonation chambers.

 

Protect against data breaches and meet compliance requirements

Data breaches can include business secrets, intellectual property, personally identifiable information like credit card and Social Security numbers, and personal health information like a patient’s medical records. You can take the following actions to stop intruders:

  • Use Encrypted Exchange Online to encrypt your emails.
  • Encrypt files in OneDrive for Business.
  • Configure information rights policies to monitor and protect sensitive information across Microsoft 365.
  • Monitor and restrict your administrators’ Microsoft 365 access and privileges.

 

Fanatical Support® for Microsoft 365

As a five-time Microsoft Hosting Partner of the Year and with over 150 Microsoft Certified Professionals, we work together with Microsoft to create solutions that address the transformational needs of today’s businesses. When you purchase Microsoft 365 through Rackspace Technology, you gain access to Microsoft’s arsenal of state-of-the-art security tools, as well as the following Rackspace Technology benefits:

  • Access to experts: Our experts will help you migrate to Microsoft 365, configure data and email encryption, access and user identity management, and other security settings.
  • A perfect fit: Our experts will help you purchase the right Microsoft 365 licenses for your business needs.
  • Premium admin portal: Simplified administrative tasks using a control panel experience for easy and efficient management.
  • Around-the-clock support: Regardless of the day or time, you’ll have access to our award-winning support, with unlimited requests and no per-incident charges.
     

To learn more about Microsoft 365 and which plan suits your business needs, download our free e-book. You’ll discover how Microsoft 365 can strengthen your security posture against today’s cyberthreats, and the benefits of having expert guidance for the Microsoft technologies your business relies on.

And when you’re ready to take the next step toward securing your Microsoft 365 environment, sign up for a Microsoft 365 security assessment. Our experts will help assess your current security posture, discuss your current and future requirements and security goals, and create an implementation plan to secure your environment.

 

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