How Secure Is Microsoft Office 365?

One of the biggest concerns that many business leaders have about implementing a new technology - especially a cloud service like Office 365- is not only whether it’s flexible enough to meet their needs but secure enough to keep their data safe. Office 365 is the most popular enterprise cloud solution. By that reason, it’s a big target for cyber attacks. So, how secure is it?

For starters, Microsoft spends $1 billion per year to make its products more secure against threats. Take a look at some of the security features that are built into the various the applications.

Data Encryption

One of the best security features of Office 365 is that it encrypts data both at rest (meaning when it’s sitting on your servers) and in transit as it makes its way from one user to another and through email. When it comes to email data encryption, sensitive information like credit card details or patient files- will stay in compliance with regulatory measures, such as HIPPA.

Microsoft, not one to do things by half measures, also protects the data behind a variety of different encryption layers. This means that if one layer is somehow breached or cracked, there are others that are keeping the data secure.

Multi-factor Authentication

Multi-factor authentication, or two-factor authentication, is a method of security that requires users to provide not only a password upon logging into a service or application but also another piece of information. In some cases, that piece of information is the answer to a security question (the ubiquitous “what is your mother’s maiden name” type questions), while in others it’s a code offered up via a key fob or that’s sent to the user via email, text, or by the mobile app.

Whichever way the multi-factor authentication is put into play, it’s an incredibly important piece to having a robust security plan in place, and Office 365 has built it right into most of their apps. Additionally, for enterprise-level organizations or those organizations using Azure, Microsoft has built in additional multi-factor authentication options for those businesses that need to meet regulatory requirements.

Mobile Device Management

Whether your employees are using company-issued devices or personal devices to conduct business, Microsoft has built-in tools (some of which may come at an additional cost) that allow organizations to control the way company data is utilized on mobile devices. It’s important to note that Mobile Device Management is not about spying on employees or keeping tabs on them. It maintains control over company documents and limits access to them so that they are only available when necessary and via secure means.

These are just a few of the very many ways that Microsoft has worked to ensure that the Office 365 experience is not only flexible and convenient for its users, but also secure for organizations. To learn more about the various layers of security that your organization should be employing, download our whitepaper Security in Layers.