Security is something all organisations must take seriously. Microsoft makes doing so easy with the security-specific tools included in its core E5 licences; offered as add-on licences; or bundled into the Enterprise Mobility + Security E5/A5/G5, Microsoft 365 E3/A3/G3, Microsoft 365 E5/A5/G5, Microsoft 365 E5/A5/G5 Security, and Microsoft 365 Business Premium packages.

If your organisation currently holds E3 licences, you may be wondering whether upgrading to E5 is worth it. In fact, Elston, a Mangano IT client and one of Australia’s largest privately owned and operated financial services companies, recently faced this question.

Given their organisation’s compliance demands, we counselled the team that moving to E5 licences would be a better match for the aggressive security posture they wanted to pursue. After supporting Elston in implementing and configuring their E5 licences, the industry leader is now well-equipped to securely access and manage its Microsoft cloud environment, as well as remain in compliance with critical regulatory standards.

Security Features Exclusive to Microsoft E5 Licences

If you’re thinking about a similar transition, there are several security features you’ll want to be aware of within Microsoft’s E5 licences.

Although the company’s E3 licences do include a number of inbuilt security features, E5 licence-holders gain access to an even greater level of protection. For instance, E5 licences may include access to the following features, depending on the specific licence being utilised.

• Azure Active Directory Premium 1 & 2
• Microsoft Defender for Office 365
• Azure Information Protection Plan 2
• Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
• Microsoft Defender for Identity
• Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
• Advanced eDiscovery and advanced audit tools
• Information protection and governance capabilities
• Insider risk management tools

That’s in addition to the security features included with E3 licences, such as Microsoft Defender Antivirus, Credential Guard, Data Loss Prevention for files and emails, Microsoft Advanced Threat Analytics, BitLocker, Device Guard, and more.

Configuring Microsoft E5 Licences for Security

Once you’ve made the move to E5 licences, there are a number of features you’ll want to configure. Here’s where to start:

Enable Microsoft’s Security Defaults

Within Azure Active Directory, all Microsoft 365 tenants are equipped with defaults that enable five of the most common security features and controls, including:

1. Requiring all users to register and use Azure Multi-Factor Authentication
2. Requiring that Administrators use Multi-Factor Authentication
3. Blocking any Legacy Authentication protocols used by the organisation
4. Forcing all users to perform Multi-Factor Authentication, as needed
5. Protecting privilege access

To turn these on, take the following steps (though note that you won’t be able to use these controls if you’ve implemented any custom Conditional Access policies):

1. Log in to your Azure Portal as a Security Administrator, Conditional Access Administrator, or Global Administrator
2. Click ‘Azure Active Directory’
3. Click ‘Properties’
4. Click ‘Manage Security Defaults’
5. Locate the ‘Enable Security Defaults’ toggle
6. Switch it to ‘Yes’
7. Click to save your changes

Configure More Advanced Security Controls

To progress your security configurations beyond Microsoft’s Security Defaults, consider implementing the following advanced controls:

1. Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) using Conditional Access policies for Administrators and users. Note, however, that adding a single Azure Active Directory Premium (Plan 1 or Plan 2) for an Administrator won’t licence it for every user (but will enable the features).
2. Use Idle Session Sign-Outs to automatically sign users out of their accounts if they remain inactive for a specified period of time. Doing so prevents unauthorised users from accessing accounts improperly.
3. Block legacy authentication through protocols like POP, SMTP, IMAP, and MAPI, which can’t enforce second-factor authentication.
4. Disable password expiration on either an organisation or user level. Though many people are surprised to hear it, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) actually recommends disabling password expiration, as it tends to make user passwords less secure.
5. Implement a banned password list that prevents users from selecting reused, common, or easy-to-guess passwords.
6. Set up external sharing protections at the tenant or application level in SharePoint to prevent the inadvertent sharing of sensitive or personally-identifying information.
7. Customise Azure Active Directory account lockout thresholds to suit your organisation’s needs (by default, smart lockout features are active, and the default setting is 10 failed sign-ins).
8. Design mobile application management (MAM) policies that protect app data organisation-wide without compromising end-user productivity. For example, you may want to block users’ ability to access company data from BYOD endpoints or to move it from one device to another.
9. Limit email auto-forwarding to prevent the malicious exfiltration of company data to external recipients. Exchange Online allows you to manage forwarding based on remote domains, use rule-based account controls (RBAC), and implement transport rules, as needed.
10. Control how Administrators and end-users can grant consent to un-managed applications.

That said, given the breadth of security features enabled with E5 licences – as well as the unique circumstances posed by different IT environments – working with a partner like Mangano IT to configure different settings is a smart choice.

Not only can we help your organisation determine the appropriate Microsoft licensing for your needs, but our customised Security Assessment process can also identify your unique risks. Because we go above and beyond automated assessments, we’re able to determine not just your particular vulnerabilities, but also plan and implement the specific configurations needed to mitigate them.

For more information on Mangano IT’s approach to Microsoft security, connect with our team of security specialists today.

The post How to Configure Your Microsoft E5 Licences for Security appeared first on Mangano IT.

Core Office 365 Essentials

First up, Microsoft 365 and Office 365 share the applications that you probably use every day. Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and of course the calendar and email applications that help you to organise your day. The applications are accessible from multiple devices, making them ideal for a mobile workforce or just the occasional day working from home.

Thanks to the cloud-based model, it’s easy to create a document in the office, edit it on the train and share it with colleagues for their input, all before reaching your stop. For many organisations, Office 365 has been the first step into the cloud, and the feedback has been deservedly positive.

Collaboration and Productivity

Beyond those classic staples, both also have some outstanding productivity and collaboration tools like OneNote, Teams and SharePoint. All three are worth exploring. OneNote, one of the underused gems of the Office suite, gathers everything from notes, screenshots, pictures and audio, much like the digital version of a pinboard – you can even search those audio files for keywords. SharePoint, meanwhile, acts as an intranet, allowing management and sharing of files between an access-controlled group.

The big collaboration tool, is Microsoft Teams. Getting the most from diverse groups in multiple locations has long been a challenge for businesses; integrating video meetings, chat and file storage, Teams enables virtual meetings that are the next best thing to being in the same room. While chatting, a developer in Munich can share a diagram with peers in Sydney, who can then edit and distribute as they go, incorporating comments from consultants across town and getting sign-off from a manager working from home. Teams makes things happen better, faster.

As a Telstra partner Mangano IT are one of just a handful in Queensland accredited to deliver Telstra calling for 0365 (TCO).  TCO enables landline and mobile calls with Microsoft Teams, so they get a consistent and intuitive experience. They’ve reported some exceptional cost-benefits after making that switch and, equally importantly, have been able to enhance their customer experience as a result.

The Microsoft 365 Security Difference

Microsoft 365 is an enterprise security and mobility platform that incorporates all the Office 365 apps you already know and love. It provides a unified collaboration experience, underpinned by Microsoft’s Enterprise Mobility and Security (EMS), a suite of tools that allows added control over your organisation’s data.

In February, Microsoft announced important security offerings that help businesses meet new data protection obligations. The Australian Notifiable Data Breach Scheme (NDBS), and GDPR in the EU, and similar legislation worldwide states organisations must handle data regarding individuals within certain guidelines. The way data breaches needs to be managed has changed, with many business being unaware of their responsibilities.

Microsoft’s Information Protection and Compliance (IPC) combines Azure Information Protection and Office 365 Advanced Compliance, helping businesses to keep track of their compliance needs from a single point. IPC is available to Microsoft 365 subscribers.

Additionally, best-of-breed advanced threat protection services, in the form of Identity and Threat Protection (ITP) includes a comprehensive array of security options to give administrators cloud app security and enhanced visibility of the threat landscape. As organisations face increasingly sophisticated cyber-crime attacks, having this level of protection within your key productivity package makes sense, not least because it requires very little in the way of management, reducing the security burden faced by in-house teams.

Windows 10 Pro

Microsoft 365 includes an upgrade to Windows 10 Pro, enhancing productivity with tools like remote desktop and Cortana.  These tools work across all your devices, integrating hundreds of apps to make your workplace seamless. It has powerful management tools like single sign-on to tackle the frustration and risk of remembering an evergrowing number of passwords. Windows Autopilot enables any PC to be enterprise ready out-of-the-box, saving a lot of IT time typically spent reimaging and manually provisioning software.

While productivity is boosted, the greatest highlights involve enhanced security features. From the futuristic, like Microsoft Hello, a facial recognition feature, to malware and hacker-blocking functionality, there are enough security leaps to infuriate any cyber-criminal. With Windows 7 end-of-life fast approaching, now is the right time to plan a change.

This is just a taster of what Microsoft 365 has to offer, our Microsoft specialists carefully assessing the possibilities to see what windows 10 can provide for your organisation.  With a variety of options available it can often become confusing; our team will help decipher through the offerings and find a windows solution best suited to your organisation.

Time to check out Microsoft 365’s productivity and security options? Contact our friendly team today.

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