The cloud is wonderful. It allows teams to collaborate remotely, work across various devices and platforms, secure their data from loss with off-site backups, and increase overall business productivity. There are so many benefits that 91% of companies use the public cloud for business operations.
But with all the benefits that come with using the cloud, they aren’t without risk. According to industry research, 13,319 vulnerabilities were detected across 1,607 cloud applications in 2019. Although there is a downward trend in vulnerabilities as technology advances, it’s still important for businesses to protect themselves from online threats. So here are a few ways you can improve your Microsoft Cloud App security.
Actively Manage User Permissions
There’s a bit of a balancing act required when using cloud applications. Give out too much access, and you open the door for online threats. Give out too little access, and your team can’t function properly.
The key to finding that balance is to actively manage your user permissions. For example, in the Microsoft Cloud App, you can use Microsoft Entra ID, formerly Azure Active Directory (AD) to set up individual sign-on and multi-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized access to your systems. You can also manage individual permissions to fine-tune access control at the user level.
Customize DLP Settings
Even with the best security settings, there’s always a chance you could lose access to your data, either from a cyberattack or natural disaster.
To prevent unnecessary downtime, make sure your information is backed up with data loss prevention (DLP) policies. In Microsoft Cloud Applications, you can manage your DLP policies in the “Information Protection” tab in the “Settings” menu. Choose the settings that best suit your business. That way, you can restore your data if disaster strikes, helping you and your team get back to work quickly.
Personalize Your Microsoft App Cloud Experience
You might not think that personalizing your Microsoft Cloud App profile would be necessary for security reasons, but it is! Personalizing your cloud experience by adding your organization details can help you monitor your systems for security issues.
Be sure to personalize the following:
- Enter email preferences, including email sender identity, email addresses, and display name.
- Set admin notifications to determine how and when you’re notified about system changes.
- Customize score metrics for monitoring various risks.
Personalizing your cloud experience will help Microsoft’s already-strong security settings work better for your specific needs and preferences. When you and the software work together, you can drastically improve protection for all your cloud applications.
Work with a Cloud App Security Specialist
While managing permissions, setting up data loss prevention, and personalizing your cloud profile is a good start, there’s much more you can do to improve your cloud security. Cloud security is a complicated topic, and having an expert on your side is the best way to ensure your applications are secure.
When you work with a cloud app security specialist like 360 Visibility, they’ll implement all the security best practices to ensure your applications are protected:
- Application security configurations
- Regular system reviews for vulnerabilities
- SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configurations
At 360 Visibility, our cloud security solution even includes security awareness training to your team so they understand how to identify and avoid security threats and use all cybersecurity best practices. If you want to learn more about how a cloud security expert can help you boost your application protection, contact us and speak to one of our dedicated consultants. Don’t let your business applications fall into the wrong hands.