Driving Compliance With Microsoft 365 Configuration

Correct Configuration Is Crucial

Microsoft’s compliance tools provide vital support to sectors as diverse as financial services, healthcare, local government, education, law, retail and manufacturing. Their inclusion in solutions such as Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services underscores their importance in addressing complex security and compliance needs.

Compliance – including data protection and cyber security – is critical if organisations are to avoid breaches, data loss, regulatory penalties, litigation, share price volatility and all the associated reputational damage.

But even the very best compliance tools – if not configured correctly – can still leave organisations vulnerable to cyberattacks and other compliance breaches. Expert help from a third-party IT provider is essential.

They can work with your in-house compliance and IT teams to understand your organisation’s detailed requirements and implement a configuration solution that meets your specialised needs and ensures full regulatory compliance. 

Advanced Microsoft 365 Configuration: Unlock Enhanced Security and Business Performance

Compliance Failure: Common Misconfiguration Errors

As IT systems become more complex – especially in cloud environments – there is an increased risk of misconfiguration exposing sensitive data.

Common issues include improperly configured cloud storage and default settings left unchanged. Open ports can give hackers direct system access – especially if there are inadequate security controls.

IT misconfigurations can result in the following security and compliance failures…

Poor Identity- and Access-Management Practices

Failures in identity and access management often result in unauthorised viewing of sensitive information. This can include issues such as:

• lost, shared or leaked passwords
• excessively broad configuration of access rights
• insecure management of credentials and API keys
• failure to delete old credentials.

Inadequate Security Controls

Missing or improperly implemented security controls are a major reason for failing audits. Examples include:

• lack of data loss prevention (DLP) solutions
• absence of incident response plans
• failure to implement two-factor authentication
• insufficient use of encryption.

Poor Patch Management

Failing to implement security patches in a timely manner can expose systems to known vulnerabilities. This often results from:

• the absence of a strong patch management policy
• inadequate processes for applying updates.

Lack of Documentation

Poor or missing documentation of security processes and policies can lead to compliance failures:

• incomplete evidence of security policies
• lack of documented risk analyses and management plans
• insufficient documentation of privacy practices.

By addressing these common misconfigurations, organisations can significantly reduce their risk of compliance failures and improve their overall security posture. Below is a list of:

• the recommended Microsoft tools for driving compliance
• what can go wrong if they are not configured correctly
• what must be done to ensure correct configuration.

Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager

This tool helps organisations to manage compliance across multicloud environments. It assesses data protection risks, implements controls and helps you to stay updated with regulatory changes.

Purview Compliance Manager provides a centralised platform for assessing, managing and monitoring compliance with industry standards, regulatory requirements and internal policies.

Here is a detailed breakdown of its capabilities and benefits:

• Pre-built assessments – pre-configured templates are aligned with standards such as GDPR and ISO 27001, along with FCA guidelines and other key regulations.
• Custom assessments – organisations can create their own compliance assessments tailored to specific regulatory requirements or internal policies.
• Risk-based compliance scoring in real time – to quantify your organisation’s compliance posture.
• Prioritisation – showing which controls have the most significant impact on your compliance score.
• Detailed implementation steps for controls – guiding IT and compliance teams on how to meet regulatory requirements.
• Control ownership – assigns controls to specific team members or roles, ensuring accountability and streamlining workflows.
• Automated testing – monitors and evaluates the status of controls continuously, identifying non-compliance or risks in real time.
• Alerts and notifications – when compliance gaps or risks are detected, allowing for swift resolution.
• Documentation and evidence collection.
• Central repository – stores all compliance-related documents and evidence, making it easier to prepare for audits or regulatory reviews.
• Audit-ready reports – automatically generates detailed reports ready to present to auditors or regulators.
• Integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft services – leveraging data from across your environment to evaluate compliance automatically.
• Supports integrations with other platforms – enabling a holistic view of compliance across hybrid and multicloud environments.
• FCA compliance – helps organisations to align with FCA guidelines including data protection, record-keeping and risk management requirements.
• Provides tools to meet GDPR and other data privacy regulations – vital for managing sensitive customer information.
• Security controls – ensuring alignment with standards such as ISO 27001 to protect against data breaches and cyber threats.
• Automates many aspects of compliance management – reducing manual effort and associated costs.

However, correct configuration is essential. Misconfigured policies may fail to meet specific regulatory requirements, leading to non-compliance.

Without proper setup, sensitive data might not be accurately identified, leaving gaps in compliance efforts.

Incorrect configuration can also result in incomplete or inaccurate records, making it difficult to pass regulatory audits.

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

DLP does exactly what the name suggests – it helps to safeguard sensitive information and ensure compliance. Organisations use it to monitor and prevent unauthorised sharing of sensitive information, such as customer financial data or proprietary algorithms.

Functionality: Identifies, monitors and protects sensitive data across Microsoft 365 services.

Risks of Misconfiguration: Potential data breaches, unauthorised sharing of sensitive financial data, and non-compliance with regulations such as GDPR or FCA requirements. Misconfiguration can also result in false positives that disrupt legitimate workflows.

Correct Configuration: Define and implement DLP policies based on specific data types and regulatory requirements, regularly test and update policies, and monitor DLP reports for effectiveness.

Microsoft Purview Information Barriers

This solution helps to prevent communication and collaboration between specific groups of users.

Functionality: Establishes ethical walls to comply with regulatory requirements and prevent conflicts of interest.

Risks of Misconfiguration: Potential regulatory violations, conflicts of interest and unauthorised information sharing between departments.

Correct Configuration: Carefully define user segments, create and test information barrier policies. Regularly review and update these policies to reflect organisational changes.

Advanced Threat Protection (ATP): Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

This is a cloud-native endpoint security platform that underpins compliance by providing comprehensive protection against advanced cybersecurity threats.

Functionality: Offers next-generation protection against malware and viruses. Provides endpoint detection and response (EDR) capabilities, automated investigation and remediation, threat and vulnerability management and attack surface reduction. Integrates with other Microsoft security products.

Risks of Misconfiguration: Reduced threat detection and response capabilities, increased susceptibility to sophisticated cyberattacks, potential data breaches due to undetected malware or exploits, ineffective endpoint protection across different platforms, missed opportunities for proactive threat hunting and vulnerability management.

Correct Configuration: Enable and configure all relevant protection features, including antivirus, EDR and attack surface reduction rules. Integrate with Microsoft Intune or other device management solutions for centralised policy deployment. Set up appropriate roles and permissions for security teams to access and manage the platform. Configure alert notifications and response actions based on your organisation’s security requirements.

It is important to regularly review and update security policies and configurations to adapt to evolving threats. Use Microsoft Secure Score for Devices to identify and implement security improvements. Enable integration with other Microsoft security products for a superior defensive posture.

Five Steps To Optimal Configuration

1. Conduct a thorough assessment of your organisation’s specific compliance requirements. Determine the scope of Purview, including which data sources, regions and teams will be involved.
2. Engage with compliance experts or Microsoft Partners to design and implement appropriate configurations. They bring in-depth technical expertise in deploying Purview within complex IT environments – speeding up the process and ensuring the best possible setup and integration.
3. IT professionals can design configurations that scale with your organisation’s growth and adapt to changing regulatory requirements. They can help you to regularly review and update configurations – enabling your organisation to adapt more efficiently to changing regulatory landscapes.
4. Risk mitigation – expert guidance ensures that critical compliance and security gaps are addressed during implementation, reducing potential risks.
5. Partners can implement robust documentation and reporting mechanisms, making it easier to handle regulatory audits or inquiries. They can also provide ongoing training to IT staff and end-users on compliance policies and tools.

By involving certified Microsoft partners with extensive experience of the financial services sector, you can ensure your Purview deployment is not only compliant but also efficient, scalable and aligned with your business goals. 

Correctly configuring your other Microsoft products ensures your organisation can significantly enhance its compliance posture, mitigate risks, meet regulatory requirements more effectively – and gain maximum value from your compliance software.

Get Expert Advice On M365 Configuration For Compliance

How well is your business using Microsoft to drive compliance? How secure is your IT system?

Find out by contacting PSTG – a highly experienced Microsoft Solutions Partner that offers financial services organisations enterprise-level expertise at an SME price point.

We are an accredited supplier to the Crown Commercial Service, an executive agency sponsored by the Cabinet Office.
PSTG is also ISO 9001, ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus certified.