Microsoft 365 Security Best Practices: When to Use Enhanced Security

Microsoft 365 Security Best Practices: When to Use Enhanced Security

No matter your industry, cybersecurity is no longer an option—it's a necessity.

This is where Microsoft 365's enhanced security features come into play, with everything from automated threat detection to advanced conditional access policies.

This enterprise-level protection bolsters your organization's defenses and allows you to focus on growth, customers, and innovation, knowing your security is in capable hands.

M365 Enhanced Security Settings: the Details

Enhanced security in Microsoft 365 defends your business against a wide range of cyberthreats beyond the security defaults, including identity compromise and business email compromise (BEC).

Picture your house with an advanced security system—multiple cameras, motion sensors, and alarms. Enhanced security features act like this kind of powerful system, significantly reducing your vulnerabilities:

  • Tighter security for specific users. Enhances security for high-risk or high-value employees, such as C-suites and IT admins.
  • Automated threat detection and response. Uses AI-driven security tools to identify and remediate threats without human intervention, providing real-time protection.
  • Granular/defined security policies. Allows detailed customization of security settings to meet specific organizational needs, including access control and permissions management.
  • Geofencing. Restricts or grants access based on a user’s physical location, such as allowing access only from the office or a specific country.
  • Conditional access policies. Dynamically adjusts security requirements based on user activity, location, and risk, restricting or allowing actions depending on the situation (e.g., remote access from an unusual location will trigger additional multifactor authentication (MFA)).
  • Automated threat investigation and remediation. Automatically investigates alerts, determines their severity, and remediates issues where possible, reducing the need for manual intervention.
  • Secure Score dashboard. Provides visibility into your security posture and suggests actionable recommendations to improve security measures across Microsoft 365.
  • Zero Trust architecture. Enforces strict verification for every user and device, ensuring no one inside or outside the network is automatically trusted.

Enhanced security also unlocks advanced security features with higher-tier plans, including Identity Protection, Information Governance, and Privileged Identity Management (PIM) (source).

Do I Need M365's Enhanced Security for My Business?

Is Microsoft 365's enhanced security right for your business? The answer depends on several factors, including your industry, along with its size and security needs.

While security defaults might be sufficient for small businesses that are not geographically dispersed and also don’t have a standard security policy in place, companies operating in highly regulated industries, like defense contracting, will almost certainly need more advanced protection and granular control.

As your business expands in size and complexity, so should your cybersecurity policies. With M365, you can scale your defenses effectively, staying ahead of evolving threats and regulation-and-compliance requirements.

Microsoft 365 Security Consultant

If your industry is considered at high risk for cyberthreats—e.g., finance, defense, government, insurance, etc.—M365’s enhanced security settings are the way to go. By offering a secure, multilayered security approach, your business will be safeguarded against the ever-evolving threat of cyberattacks.

And you're never alone! WYRE always helps by tailoring our managed security solutions to your specific needs, ensuring your technology is safeguarded from emerging threats.

Focus on your business—we'll take care of the rest.

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