From July 2024, Microsoft began rolling out additional security defaults to their system. What do these changes mean for you and your business? Read on to find out.
What are security defaults?
Security defaults are a set of policies designed to protect your business from identity-related cyberattacks. These types of cyberattacks are often successful due to a lack of cyber security knowledge from a layperson.
When these policies are implemented, all Microsoft users will have multi-factor authentication (MFA) turned on and enforced for signing into your 365 account. (This will not affect anyone who already has it enabled and setup.)
When you sign into your Microsoft account, you will receive a prompt asking you to set up the Microsoft Authenticator App. Attached will be a guide on how to download and use the app.
What does MFA mean?
Microsoft has started rolling out additional security defaults to their Azure users. Microsoft Azure is a suite of cloud solutions and programs commonly used by businesses to manage their services. Part of these security defaults is requiring Microsoft users to have multi-factor authentication (MFA) in place.
MFA demands users to provide at least two pieces of evidence to prove their identity before they can access a Microsoft program. This proof of identity can take a variety of forms, including:
- A password or PIN.
- A phone number or email address.
- A fingerprint or facial recognition scan.
Why are Microsoft implementing these changes?
Having MFA in place significantly reduces the chances that cybercriminals can access your email accounts or other sensitive data. With common cyberattacks like phishing costing businesses huge amounts, Microsoft have decided to role this standard out to all their customers to reduce the risk.
The increase in remote working following the pandemic has sped up the trend towards digital, hybrid businesses. This has also subsequently increased the risk of those same businesses falling prey to cyberattack.
As more people work outside of their business’s offices and access sensitive business data from various different devices and locations, this data is put at risk. Unsecured networks and devices or unsafe passwords all leave businesses vulnerable to cyberattack. Implementing MFA helps reduce the risk by adding another verification step. MFA also helps businesses comply with important security standards, such as GDPR.
PC Comms can help your business implement cyber security
As an IT Support provider, PC Comms already recommend MFA is enabled for all of our customers. In recent months, we have seen an increase in the number of email breaches, where MFA is also being breached. To protect your users and data from these newer style attacks, we recommend cyber security training for your staff and Conditional Access policies to prevent access to your data.
