Microsoft Teams An overview of security and compliance

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Microsoft Teams: An overview of security and complianceh t t p s : / / 3 6 5 s o l u t i o n s . c o m /

A collaboration and communication tool, Microsoft Teams, is an inseparable part of remote and hybrid workers’ lives. Its immense popularity and 145 million active users are proof of the statement. With such a huge user base, it is essential to have top-notch security and compliance characteristics. However, while Microsoft Teams offer various such characteristics, not many people and organisations know it. If you are one of them, this blog is for you. Herein, we have listed down Microsoft Teams’ top security and compliance features that businesses can leverage to protect their data and operate in a secure environment.

Security Features in Microsoft TeamsMicrosoft Teams app offers various security features to protect the data and privacy of its users. Some of these features are-

AuthenticationMicrosoft Teams has several authentication arrangements in place to ensure external and unauthorised users cannot access your data. This includes the two-step authentication process and a single step sign in through Active Directory. The authentication is where Microsoft Teams stands out from its competitors like Slack in providing adequate security to its users.

EncryptionAnother layer of security is added by the data encryption feature. Microsoft teams uses Active Directory to manage the encryption during data transit or at rest. Having an internal directory for encryption gives the IT department more control over the security features. In addition to this, certain other Microsoft apps integrated with Teams like OneNote and SharePoint have their own encryption protocols.

Safe AttachmentsThe safe attachment security feature checks and detects malicious attachments in emails. This feature prevents users from sending, clicking or acting upon any suspicious, malicious attachment. It is available on Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, OneNote and Microsoft 365.

Advanced Threat ProtectionAdvanced Threat Protection (ATP) feature runs checks and determines if there’s any malicious content in the Microsoft Teams app. Further, it blocks this content from user access. ATP is available over Microsoft Teams, OneNote, SharePoint and other applications that you can integrate for content management. As a user, you can select and determine how you want the malicious content to be managed. For example, when a file is labelled as malicious, you cannot open or copy it, but you still have the option to download or delete it. However, SharePoint Online admins can restrict the users from downloading it.

Secure ScoreSecure Score is a feature in Microsoft 365 wherein you can check the security readiness and measure the security poster of your organisation. The score can be found in Microsoft 365 security centre. A higher score indicates better security and vice versa. Along with the score, you will also get recommendations to enhance it and protect your data better. The security score helps organisations in various ways. First, you can know the current posture of security. Second, it helps to improve the posture by providing visibility, guidance and control. Lastly, you can establish KPIs and compare your current posture to the benchmarks.

Risk ManagementAccess to precise data about IT assets helps aids in identifying and analysing risks and provide for them. A sound asset management strategy can play a significant role in minimising risks and offers proactive solutions to it.

Compliance Features in Microsoft Teams

Communication compliance

The communication compliance in Microsoft Teams examines communication on the tool to identify offensive language, sensitive information, and other information regarding the internal and regulatory standards. To minimise the communication risk for organisations, they scan the chat communications and the associated attachments in public and private chat channels and individual chats.

Retention PoliciesRetention policies, as the name suggests, are for retaining information. In Microsoft Teams, you can retain data that is necessary for compliance, regulatory or legal purposes. Alongside, you can remove and delete content that is not relevant or is not required to be retained. Another option is to retain the content for some time and then delete it.

As an organisation, you have complete autonomy in selecting which content or data you want to retain.

You can opt to configure a single retention policy for all conversations and messages. Have a separate policy for standard channels, private channels, and 1:1 private

messages. Apply retention policies only on certain channels and users.

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)With Data Loss Prevention in place, you can manage and regulate the sharing of sensitive information over the teams app. For example- if someone from your organisation mistakenly shares some sensitive information on a chat or channel with external users, the information will be automatically deleted if you have a DLP policy in place to prevent it.

ConclusionSo these are some of the security and compliance features of Microsoft Teams that keep your information safe. To make the most out of them, make sure you have set up the configurations wherever required. For more information on this or any other Microsoft cloud product or service, reach out to 365Solutions on +44 20 3880 1220 or visit our website https://365solutions.com/.

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