SharePoint is the lifeblood of your organization, as it stores all the critical business information, internal wikis, and project information that are used by your teams on a day-to-day basis. As the platform grows into a digital library, it is a priority for any IT or security team to ensure the security of the platform, as a data breach can result in the loss of years of critical proprietary information.
The Core of Enterprise Collaboration
Microsoft has created a collaborative platform that is used as the central hub for all modern enterprises. This platform is used by employees in different departments of the organization as they share new ideas, write critical business documents, and manage complex workflows. This platform, being the central hub for all the intellectual property of the organization, naturally becomes a target for malicious users. These malicious users are constantly on the lookout for entry points or security configurations in the network that they can exploit.
Hidden Risks in Cloud Document Management
Cloud software environments are prone to various vulnerabilities in the business network. Oversharing is a common problem in cloud document management services. This happens when employees inadvertently allow unauthorized access to critical business information, such as corporate folders, which are usually highly confidential in nature. Additionally, phishing attacks are common, as hackers often target user credentials to gain unauthorized access into the system.
Moreover, sync client errors or ransomware attacks can result in data loss on a global scale, for which it can take days or even weeks for the organization to recover if it does not have a reliable Office 365 SharePoint backup.
Building Robust Access Controls
Who has access to what information is the first line of defense for any organization. It is crucial for any organization to implement the concept of least privileges, as it ensures that employees are granted access only to the information required for them to perform their job functions.
Instead, adopt role-based permission. This strategy will simplify management since your workforce is bound to change. Finally, you should absolutely require multifactor authentication for all users to effectively block unauthorized login attempts.
Data Loss Prevention and Labeling
It is essential to protect your sensitive business data from being lost from your secure network. This is possible through smart and automated data loss prevention strategies. This strategy will help you monitor and block the sharing of your sensitive business data, including financial records, personal identification numbers, and other sensitive business intellectual property.
It is also important to label your business documents based on their sensitivity levels. This label goes with your document. It automatically implements encryption and access restrictions, even when your user downloads the document and emails it outside your organization.
Your Digital Environment Security Checklist
As a responsible business, you need to ensure your collaborative workspaces and other digital environments are always secure. This is possible through regular comprehensive audits. Use this quick numbered checklist to help you assess your current digital environment.
First, you should ensure all your external sharing settings conform to your corporate security policies. Second, you should ensure all your documents have an automated sensitivity label. Third, you should immediately remove all unused global admin privileges. Fourth, you should ensure your organization has an existing disaster recovery plan with an existing backup solution from a third party. Finally, you should immediately schedule regular quarterly training sessions for all employees. This will always keep your business data and other proprietary business information safe from evolving digital threats!
