6 Tips on how to prevent data loss in Microsoft 365

The cost and danger of data loss differ highly depending on how big the company is and in the industry they belong to. According to IBM, the average data breach damage reaches as high as $3.92 million. Not to mention the number of irate and unhappy customers and tainted business reputation that we can take into account aside from the monetary value.

Microsoft, understanding the importance of business data and the threats accompanying of losing it, released a ream of security and compliance tools for Microsoft 365 subscribers. But as the number of refinement and frequency of data breaches increases, these number of solutions might not be enough.

In this article, we will be tackling easy ways to prevent data loss in Microsoft 365.

• Using a multifactor authentication (MFA)

• Also known as 2-step verification. To cut down the risk of account hacking, one should not rely on a single password. You must enable multifactor authentication. This will make it hard to access your account by hackers since aside from they need to guess your password, they also need to have a second authentication.

• Application of session timeouts

• There are times that an employee forgets to log out of their Microsoft 365 accounts that make their computers or other devices unlocked. This could make a way for hackers or unauthorized users to access freely the company accounts and allowing them to steal sensitive and personal data.
• Having session timeouts will help balance the security and the number of times that the user will be prompted for his or her credentials.

• Taking leverage of Policy Alerts

• These precautionary alerts or warnings can help prevent data leakage and at the same time educate users on the proper and safer way to share data as it pops up as a tip or warning to users if they are about to share information to someone who is not listed in the business network.

• Encrypting your email

• Encrypting your email will help you convert the content of your email from a readable plain text into a scrambled ciphertext. This can be a good defense to hackers or unauthorized users who are trying to get into your emails as it will make the texts unreadable and hard to understand.

• Make sure to secure mobile devices

• Mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones are oftentimes used in accessing documents, work emails, contacts, or calendars. Making sure that they are secured is as critical as securing and protecting your company’s data.
• Enabling mobile device management features for Microsoft 365 will be beneficial in accessing permissions or restrictions, remotely delete personal and sensitive data if your mobile device got stolen, and managing security policies.

• Utilization of role-based access controls

• This feature will help the company improve its security posture while providing IT with a fixated experience, based on permissions. It helps regulate which users are allowed to access specific files in the company.

On top of these things, we still must be aware of any potential data security risks.  Omnipotech provides cybersecurity solutions for every business. You may call 281-768-4800 to know more on how to develop stronger security for you business; get in touch with us through the Omnipotech Support Center.