If you’re a subscriber to Microsoft 365, there is a feature which may have escaped your attention that can help to greatly enhance your cybersecurity efforts, and it comes included in all three 365 solutions available for business. Microsoft Secure Score is a security analytics tool which provides a measurement of an organisation’s security posture and helps to improve it. It is available to Microsoft 365 subscribers.
Why is it so important?
Most businesses have come to understand the importance of protecting themselves against security breaches. As cybersecurity threats become increasingly more prolific and sophisticated, and data governance and compliance regulations are continually updated, it is more important than ever that businesses keep up with this ever-changing landscape. The compromising of sensitive data, for example, can lead to costly recovery expenses and weakened client trust.
How does Secure Score work?
Businesses can view and work on the security of their data, apps, devices, identities and infrastructure within Microsoft 365 from a centralised dashboard in the Microsoft security centre.
Specific “improvement actions” are recommended to the user which can bolster security and points are given for the improvement actions and security-related tasks and suggestions which have been implemented. A score is calculated as a sum of Microsoft 365 (and third-party) security controls which have already been implemented against those which haven’t, which gives you an indicator of the extent to which the adopted controls can offset the risk of a security breach.
Set your own targets
Rather than simply reacting to security threats, Secure Score allows you to improve your security posture gradually over time. A target score within your dashboard can be altered in line with your own time-frames for improving your score. More recommended actions will be displayed the higher your target score, providing the flexibility to work on your security standing at your own pace.
Visualise your goals
Historical scores can be viewed in graph form, allowing you to visualise improvements or drifts from goals over time at a glance. You can also compare your company Secure Score to the average, as well as the industry average and businesses of a similar size.
Prioritise tasks
Discover more about individual recommended actions, how much effort these actions entail and how they can potentially impact your organisation by clicking on them. Recommendations can be filtered by action type, cost and user impact, allowing prioritisation of actions based on your business needs.
Secure Score on Microsoft 365 will help to ensure that your infrastructure is as secure as it can be. As you use the tool and learn more about its features it will give you further peace of mind that you’re taking the right steps to protect your organisation from threats.