How to Protect Your Enterprise Against Office 365 Data Loss

Office 365 market share is growing at an amazing rate. More and more enterprises are trusting Microsoft products. More than 18% of files in SharePoint Online and OneDrive contain important information related to health or finance. Most companies think that if they are using Office 365 then they don’t need to take back up. But, this is a complete myth. Office 365 data is also stored onsite. It is also your responsibility to make sure that your data is secured.

Most of the Microsoft users are exposing their sensitive passwords, health data and files publicly. They are using Docs.com for storing documents that are publicly accessible to everyone. If you are using Docs.com, then it is your responsibility to make sure that you are not uploading any sensitive information.

Microsoft is trying to deliver a cloud platform that is free from all vulnerabilities. They are trying to make sure that your data is protected from attackers. The users have to make sure that they are following compliances with external regulations and policies. Your employees must use Office 365 in a secure and safe manner. In this article, we are going to talk about how to protect your enterprise against Office 365 data loss.

1. Accidental deletion

This is the most common cause of Office 365 data loss. Sometimes your employees can accidentally delete some folder or file. Your employees can easily any delete any conversation or data in Groups, Teams or SharePoint. They can even overwrite the previous versions of files. If your file was accidentally deleted, then you can still recover it from the recycle bin. But, the files are stored temporarily in the Recycle Bin. Thus, you must monitor your files every day. Make sure that all the important files are present in your cloud.

2. Malware deletion

Sometimes your data is deleted because of malicious intentions. Disgruntled employees can also intentionally delete your folders or files which are shared with them. Sometimes even attackers can gain access to your Office 365 folders and files. If your employees are using a weak password, then they can brute force their password. Attackers can gain access to the global admin account and delete all the data.

If your important files are folders are lost due to malicious or accidental deletion, then the productivity of your company will go down. Your employees can’t do their normal daily tasks. You will also lose a lot of revenue. If your company has data retention requirements, then get ready for legal implications. You can protect your data by taking regular back up of your files. This will make sure that you can always restore your data.

3. Understand what type of data you are uploading to Office 365

You should also check how your employees are using Office 365 services. It is important to know what type of data is stored in the cloud. You don’t need to take any action in this phase. Only focus on what type of data your users are uploading to the cloud. This can be done by scanning the data stored in SharePoint Online, Exchange Online mailbox, and OneDrive.

4. More visibility in collaboration

Office 365 allows its users to collaborate with their team members. You can easily work with your team members. Your IT team must understand how your employees are collaborating with their team members. The IT team must also know what types of files are being shared with your internal and external employees. They should monitor all the collaboration accounts. If your employees are forwarding anonymous links, then you educate them about security policies. It is very important to educate your employees about good security practices.

5. Don’t upload sensitive data in Office 365

Make sure that you are not storing your important or sensitive data in the cloud. If you are a government contractor working on military equipment, then you should make sure that your data is safe. Thus, you must never upload your high-valued data in the cloud. If you are a healthcare provider, then make sure that you are not uploading your patient records in the cloud. If you own a pharmaceutical company, then you should never upload your Research and development data in the cloud. First, you need to identify highly sensitive data from your company. After that, you have to make sure that your employees are not uploading sensitive data to the cloud.

6. Customization issue

Microsoft offers a lot of features to its users. You can use custom solutions, workflows, designs, and other customizations. But, these custom customizations can introduce new vulnerabilities. If you have found some error in customization, then make sure to remove it. Data loss can result in downtime. Thus, make sure that your data is protected.

7. Enforce strong Data loss protection policies

Every company should enforce strong DLP policies across all Office 365 products. If you are using other cloud services, then you can enforce the same policies. You should use a single DLP policy engine. If you are enforcing the same DLP policies, then you can easily focus on higher priority policy violations. It will also become easy to find false positives.

Conclusion

Office 365 user base is growing rapidly. More and more enterprises are using Office 365 for doing their daily tasks. Microsoft is also making sure that your data is protected from hackers. If you have deleted your file by mistake, then you can find it in the Recycle bin. But, it is best to use third-party backup solutions for preventing data loss. You can use third-party tools for backing up your data. This is the ideal way to protect your files against malicious or accidental deletion. It will also protect your files from data corruption and ransomware attacks. You should also create a strong DLP protection policy. This will help you in reducing the risks of data loss. If you want more information about DLP policies, then you can contact Bleuwire.

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