How Microsoft Secure Score Enhances Your Security Framework?

Change is of the essence when discussing security measures and frameworks in the corporate world. The ability to rapidly adapt to emerging threats and evolving technologies is crucial for safeguarding business resources and ensuring resilience. The question that remains is how to achieve this, given that it is quite unlikely for malicious actors to disclose their plans before executing them.

Organizations need a comprehensive set of tools that provide insights into their security posture to combat this challenge efficiently. Microsoft Secure Score is one such tool that offers the complete package for assessing and enhancing organizational security. Businesses can leverage the security assessment and management tool to gain valuable suggestions regarding their existing security framework and identify areas for improvement.

Understanding Microsoft Secure Score

Microsoft provides the Secure Score, which is designed to assess and improve organizational security frameworks and posture. It is a numerical score quantifying an organization’s overall security that is calculated based on current settings and practices. It is accessible via the Microsoft 365 Defender portal and provides a clear and actionable overview of business security health. Additionally, Microsoft Secure Score enables organizations to benchmark their scores against similar businesses within the industry using anonymized data via a comparison bar chart.

An organization’s Microsoft Secure Score considers multiple aspects of the security setup including security configuration, adherence to best practices, and overall risk management. Factors like user and admin settings, threat protection measures, and compliance with recommended security measures are also taken into account during score calculation.

The tool will suggest certain recommendations to improve your current score. Within a Microsoft ecosystem, these actions relate to enabling relevant features in security platforms and tools such as Defender for 365 or Defender for Endpoint protection. However, organizations that implement non-Microsoft security features in addition to Defender for Office 365 can take the necessary steps within their third-party tools to achieve similar results and then mark the action as completed on Secure Score.

It is essential to note that a low Microsoft Secure Score does not automatically imply that your infrastructure is bound for an imminent cyber threat. Conversely, a higher Secure Score does not make your IT systems impervious to attacks. Rather, the score is more of an indicator of potential risk, with a higher score reducing the likelihood of an attack successfully breaching your defenses and causing data loss or organizational disruptions. Organizations should regularly review and act on the recommendations offered by Secure Score to continuously improve their security posture.

Interpreting Microsoft Secure Score Ranges

Microsoft Secure Score provides a numeric representation of overall security and understanding these scores is essential to making the most of the tool. By properly identifying where they fall in the range, organizations can gauge their current security standing and proceed to improve their score by identifying areas that need attention and implementing recommendations.

Below 30%: Organizations with scores below 30% are likely to have significant gaps in their security and should prioritize addressing these vulnerabilities to avoid security breaches.

30% to 60%: Scores in this range signify the presence of some security measures but not enough to adequately address the majority of security concerns.

60% to 80%: Organizations with a score in this range have a solid security posture with only minor vulnerabilities. There is still room for improvement, but this is as good as it gets for most organizations when user experience and simplicity of the platforms are considered.

Above 80%: Any score above the 80% mark is considered excellent and implies that the organization has a strong security framework in place and can effectively tackle any risks.

While the above ranges serve as a useful guideline, it is exactly that, just a guideline and not a rigid standard. Microsoft Secure Score metrics are not a one-size-fits-all kind of situation. Businesses of different sizes and industries will naturally receive different scores and have varying optimal ranges, reflecting their unique security needs and the challenges they face.

Methods to Boost Your Microsoft Secure Score

Having gained a better understanding of what Secure Score is, let us explore some of the most common strategies to enhance your current score and fortify your organizational security. Chances are that some of these methods will likely be recommended by Secure Score itself, so why not get a head start and begin implementing them proactively?

• Enhancing Identity and Access Management

  Enforcing access management protocols serves as the first line of defense and is one of the most important measures for a good Secure Score. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) and role-based access control (RBAC) represent two important access management measures that can be easily enabled and implemented. MFA requires users to present two or more identification factors before they can access their system or relevant resources, creating an additional layer of security over simple one-factor authentication models. Additionally, RBAC operates on the principle of least privilege and provides users with access only to relevant resources and data to avoid accidental or malicious access to confidential information.

• Updating and Patching Systems

  Keeping your applications and systems updated is essential for maintaining a strong security framework. Updates and patches address security vulnerabilities and cracks in the defense to improve your overall security. Routinely checking for and implementing them is of critical importance. Establishing a systematic approach for the process ensures that it is consistently executed and reduces the risk of security gaps being overlooked. This proactive approach enhances your security posture and contributes to a higher Secure Score.

• Addressing Score Fluctuations

  Review the “Recommended Actions” tab in Secure Score to identify key methods of boosting your score. Focus on high-priority recommendations that have greater potential to positively impact your security posture. Certain recommendations may also be a repeatable action like periodically reviewing and updating your security configurations, it would be wise to incorporate these into your Weekly IT checklist for long-term security gains. Additionally, keep an eye on the History tab to monitor changes in your score and identify whether the actions you are taking are having a positive impact on the security metric. The History tab offers real-time data and explanations for fluctuations in the score enabling you to execute the necessary corrective action.

• Enhancing Network Security

  It is advisable to segment your network to limit the spread of potential breaches. It is easier to isolate, contain, and deal with threats more efficiently when your network is divided into smaller, isolated segments. Network segmentation drastically reduces the extent of damage and risk of widespread attacks. Additionally, it is essential to ensure that all access nodes, including network access, are granted only to authorized individuals. This can be achieved by deploying Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) to monitor network traffic and identify suspicious activity.

• Ensuring Comprehensive Integration

  To make the most of Microsoft Secure Score it is crucial to ensure that the security measurement and analytics tool is integrated across all your entire IT system, including endpoints. Often, organizations might have a high score but fail to realize that their employee workstations are not being accounted for during Secure Score calculations. Office desktops and other endpoints that might be used by employees are perhaps the most vulnerable part of an organizational IT setup. Ensuring that your endpoints are sufficiently integrated with the security system, including Secure Score, affords better and more comprehensive security in addition to more accurate Secure Score predictions.

Connect with Apps4Rent to Improve your Security Posture

To effectively enhance your security framework and optimize your Microsoft Secure Score, consider partnering with Apps4Rent, a Microsoft Solutions Partner. Our team of experts has extensive expertise with cloud and virtual technologies and can help you address vulnerabilities specific to your industry. By leveraging our experience and tailored solutions you can achieve a higher level of security and better align your business with regulatory compliance policies. Whether you are looking to optimize your Microsoft 365 environment or enhance collaboration using its extensive toolsets, Apps4Rent is your one-stop solution for all your Microsoft requirements. Contact our cloud experts today and take the first step towards enhancing your security posture with tailored solutions and expert guidance.