Moving applications to the cloud presents organizations with the flexibility to operate virtually anywhere. While this is an excellent thing for many organizations, it also offers an opportunity for those looking to target them.
With over 200 million active Office 365 users reported in late 2019, it’s easy to see the importance of securing the platform as it continues to grow.
So, what has Microsoft done to help?
Well, they have offered the Cloud App Security suite!
Cloud App Security is more than just a catchy title; it is a cloud-based security suite designed to work in tandem with Microsoft’s offerings, such as Office 365, Azure Active Directory, and other business-critical items.
For a business, Cloud App Security offers increased protection by intelligently monitoring and analyzing the use of various cloud applications. This monitoring gives IT administrators better visibility into the business’s standard practices. It allows them to setup custom alerts for anything out of the ordinary that could be potentially malicious.
What kind of alerts are we talking about here?
Items like suspicious email forwarding, impossible travel activity, and suspected malware are just a few of the things that Cloud App Security keeps its eyes on.
For example, Bob in accounting just left for lunch 15 minutes ago, and all of a sudden, an alert comes in, notifying that he’s just logged into his account from a device located in Jamaica. Bob may be fast, but he’s not that fast. These alerts give IT staff the opportunity to quickly react and use the platform’s toolsets to change his password, initiate a sign-out across all devices, and review the account for any damage that could have been done.
The move to the cloud isn’t slowing down, and unfortunately, neither are hackers. Recent data suggests that 89% of business users are using at least one form of a cloud application each day, and roughly 44% of all attacks are targeted towards these cloud apps. Microsoft’s Cloud App Security suite provides a simple and effective way to secure part of your business, so why not give it a try?
