Cybersecurity is a major concern for companies of all sizes. In 2021, hackers caused $6 trillion worth of damage worldwide. This figure is expected to rise by 15% per year over the next decade.
Companies and organizations can address security concerns in a number of ways. If you use Microsoft products, you can rely on Microsoft 365 Secure Score to assess your cybersecurity posture and make improvements if needed.
Here is a closer look at this useful tool.
What Is Microsoft 365 Secure Score?
Microsoft Secure Score is a Threat and Vulnerability Management tool. It automatically analyzes your company’s security practices and assigns a score based on how effective your current setup is.
In general, a lower score indicates more vulnerabilities, while a higher one shows a more effective security posture. While the score is a good indicator of the quality of your cybersecurity practices, the Microsoft Secure Score also offers essential details that can help you make improvements in weak areas.
What Does the Report Show You?
Microsoft Secure Score offers a rating, in the form of a percentage, to show your company’s overall cybersecurity performance. The usefulness goes far beyond this basic insight. Here are additional benefits you can enjoy by using Microsoft Secure Score.
- Microsoft breaks down the score, so you can see the performance in different areas. For example, you may get a separate score for device security, applications, and passwords and access.
- The Secure Score report lists security flaws that need to be addressed. You can use these listings to make necessary improvements, which will increase your score.
- This information can also help you establish key performance indicators (KPIs), which you can use to measure cybersecurity improvements.
- The report can also help you ensure that you comply with all information security regulations and policies, such as protecting customers’ personal information or ensuring the privacy of health-related data.
- The report automatically lists scores and creates visual representations, so you can report the findings to company stakeholders and decision-makers. You can automatically create .pdf and .csv files containing the score and related data.
The report also shows the average scores for similar companies so that you can see how your cybersecurity stance compares to your competitors.
How Can You Use the Score Reports?
Your security score report can offer insights into your company’s cybersecurity practices. Once your managed IT service providers have the report in hand, they can use it to take action to enhance your Microsoft products and network.
The report contains a list of issues to address. You need an IT administrator who is familiar with Microsoft 365 infrastructure and has the correct permissions to access settings to perform these actions.
Examples could include updating settings so that employees need to use two-factor authentication (2FA) to log in. This would require every user to have a code, received by text or smartphone app, in addition to their regular password.
Administrators can also activate or change the sensitivity of existing M365 security systems, and ensure that all apps and security tools are updated to the latest version.