Here is an overview of the main practices based on our experiences working with various organizations, which Microsoft also recommends for companies to follow:

• 1. Multi-factor Authentication (MFA): Implementing MFA is a crucial step in protecting your accounts, requiring additional verification methods besides a password. This significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access.
• 2. Protection of Administrator Accounts: Ensure that administrator accounts have extra protection due to their elevated privileges. This may involve using separate accounts for daily and administrative tasks.
• 3. Email and Collaboration Security Policies: Use Microsoft 365’s preset security policies to protect against threats such as spam, malware, and phishing. These policies help protect your email communications and collaborations on platforms like SharePoint and OneDrive.
• 4. Device Protection: Protect all devices that have access to your Microsoft 365 and SharePoint data. This includes both company-owned and personal devices, ensuring they meet your security standards.
• 5. Data Encryption: In SharePoint and OneDrive, data is encrypted both in transit and at rest. Microsoft uses top-level encryption methods to ensure data security, and only a limited number of employees have access to data centers.
• 6. Zero Trust Framework and Least Privilege: Adopting a zero trust framework ensures that every access request is verified, minimizing unauthorized access risks. The principle of least privilege limits users’ access rights only to what is strictly necessary for their job tasks.
• 7. Conditional Access Policies: You can implement conditional access policies to control who accesses your Microsoft 365 resources based on conditions such as user role, device status, location, and identified risks.
• 8. Phishing Protection: Training and tools are essential to protect against phishing attacks, which are common and complex. Microsoft 365 includes features that help recognize and protect against such threats.
• 9. Audit Logs and Automated Reporting: SharePoint’s audit logs allow you to monitor activities and automate reporting to ensure effective monitoring and compliance. Various products and solutions can automate these audits, providing detailed reports for review.
• 10. Data Leak Prevention Policies: Implement smart data leak prevention policies to avoid unauthorized sharing of sensitive information. Tools like Microsoft Purview help manage, protect, and govern sensitive data across your organization.
• 11. Regular Security Reviews: Automate security risk reviews and manage external sharing rights vigilantly. It is crucial to regularly review externally shared content and adjust rights as needed to maintain security.
• 12. Using Third-Party Solutions: Consider using third-party solutions for additional security measures and monitoring options. These can provide extended features and specialized security functions that complement Microsoft’s built-in tools.
• 13. Data Backup and Security: To reduce potential damage from a cyber or ransomware attack, it is prudent to back up business-critical or personal data in Microsoft 365 and SharePoint. Whether it’s third-party cloud backup or a local backup solution, securely storing data and documents until their end of life is essential. More information about data backup can be read in our blog article on this topic.

Protecting managed content and data in Microsoft 365 and SharePoint is an ongoing process that requires attention to detail, awareness of the latest threats, and a proactive approach. Implementing these best practices significantly improves your organization’s data security situation.

If you want to ensure that your organization’s data in Microsoft 365 and SharePoint is protected in the best possible way and do not know how to independently implement or deploy the above technical solutions, contact us, and we will support you.

Is Data Backup Necessary?

Yes, it is because there is a direct relation to money and expenses, whether data loss is due to theft, force majeure, or just a cup of coffee accidentally spilled on the computer.

Every data loss incurs direct and indirect costs. If you have a backup, you can easily restore the data; otherwise, the data is permanently lost. Below, you’ll find an overview of various common causes of data loss.

Is Your (Company’s) Data Backed Up?

You might answer “yes” thinking Microsoft handles it because you are a Microsoft 365 user. The answer is “no”, because a SaaS (Software as a Service) provider like Microsoft is responsible for ensuring that the tools and infrastructure enabling their use are operational and secure.

Data and its security are your responsibility. According to Microsoft’s Shared Responsibility Model, data management and the protection of business-critical data are the user or client’s responsibility.

Read more on this topic here.

Is Using OneDrive and Archiving Files Enough?

It’s important to remember that while many built-in functionalities of Microsoft 365 give the impression of data backup, it’s not that simple.

Microsoft OneDrive does keep a copy of user files in Microsoft’s cloud, but it is not a data backup. If a user file is deleted or damaged by malware, this will be reflected in OneDrive through automatic synchronization. Thus, the original files can no longer be restored because they no longer exist or are encrypted.

The definition of data backup states that a backup is a copy kept separately in a different location, which can be used to restore data quickly and comfortably, if needed. If a backup exists, data can be restored – without it, data is permanently lost.

If you want to read more about how responsibility is divided between you and Microsoft, you can do so HERE.

Remember: Your data is your responsibility.

Regardless of the type of deployment, you always have responsibility for the following components:

• Data
• Endpoints
• Account
• Access management

Võta meiega ühendust, hea meelega räägime Sulle lahendustest ja võimalustest lähemalt.

Why is Data Backup Important?

Next, we introduce seven critical reasons why data should be backed up. What are these unintentional or intentional situations that can cause data loss and the associated costs?

• Mistaken deletion: This is the most common cause of data loss in Microsoft 365. Whether it happened intentionally or unintentionally, the data is deleted across the network. Having a backup allows for the restoration of an Exchange or Microsoft 365 user and data on the server.

• Discrepancies and shortcomings in data retention policies: Microsoft 365’s retention policies are designed to help organizations and companies meet the requirements arising from legislation, standards, and internal agreements; they are not backups. Following and managing all kinds of retention policies is a complex task. Data backup is a way of retaining data that is secure and stored in a separate storage location, enabling quick data restoration when needed.

• Internal security risks: When talking about business risks, external risks and data protection against them are often considered. However, many companies also face internal security risks. This issue is actually more current than is often assumed. The right backup solution significantly reduces possible risks and damages of data loss and destruction.

• External security risks: Malware is constantly evolving, and criminals find new ways to access company data. Often, a cyberattack leads to massive encryption of company data. Data backup allows, in such cases, to restore data to the state before the attack.

• Legal requirements and compliance: Although Microsoft 365 has built-in functionalities (e.g., eDiscovery), third-party backup solutions are specifically designed for this purpose. They allow searching and finding necessary data from the backup and restoring required data quickly to ensure compliance with all requirements.

• Mailbox management and migration: Migrating mailboxes to the MS365 environment and managing them in hybrid environments also requires careful data backup, regardless of the data’s original location.

• Teams data structure: The architecture for storing data in Microsoft Teams is much more complex than we might think. This means that data in Teams is not only stored in the app itself but also in other applications such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive. In this context, adequate protection of data is extremely important.

How Can I Protect My Data?

There are several ways, first, you can find solutions and opportunities to have the data properly backed up yourself. Another option is to use an experienced partner who has a constant overview of solutions offered on the market, has tested and used them, and can recommend the one that suits your needs.

At ShareCloud, we have extensive experience with various service providers and have currently selected the following: VeeAm and N-Able.

Contact us, and we would be happy to discuss the solutions and opportunities in more detail.