Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    Microsoft 365 Business Boosts SMB Security With Ransomware Protection

    By
    Pedro Hernandez
    -
    May 1, 2018
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      security

      Following in the footsteps of its upmarket cousin, the Microsoft 365 Business suite now has new security enhancements meant to keep small and midsize business (SMB) users and the data they’re entrusted with safe.

      Earlier this month, while the IT security community was gathered at the RSA Conference in San Francisco (April 16-20), Microsoft added some new tools to its Microsoft 365 software suite for enterprises, which includes Windows 10, Office 365 and Enterprise Mobility + Security. Two such tools, the Secure Score and Attack Simulator

      ,

      enable administrators to see how well their Microsoft software environments stand up to attempts at stealing data.

      Now, Microsoft is focusing its security efforts on smaller organizations that may lack the technical know-how and financial resources to mount a defense against determined attackers.

      Over the coming weeks, the software maker is rolling out new threat and information protection features to existing Microsoft 365 Business accounts for SMBs, the software giant announced on April 30. Microsoft 365 Business includes Office 365 with added security and device management capabilities. New customers get the new features the moment they sign up.

      New to the product are safeguards against some of the most prevalent threats to organizations today: ransomware and phishing.

      IBM Security’s recent 2018 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index was a classic case of good news, bad news. In 2017, there were 25 percent fewer publicly disclosed data breaches than in 2016—2.9 billion versus 4 billion customer records affected—Big Blue’s security researchers found. However, that number doesn’t include records impacted by ransomware attacks. Since companies aren’t required to report ransomware attacks, and therefore can’t be reliably tracked, IBM warns that the total number of incidents is likely to be higher than in previous years.

      Since ransomware and phishing often go hand-in-hand, Microsoft has added new attachment-scanning capabilities that use artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically examine and discard messages meant to scam users. Microsoft 365 Business can also scan messages to determine whether they are part of a phishing scheme and enable device-hardening features that block interactions with ransomware and websites that serve up this and other types of malware.

      In terms of data privacy, Microsoft is introducing data loss prevention (DLP) functionality, typically used by large enterprises to keep a lid on sensitive or private information. More than half (53 percent) of all SMBs handle Social Security numbers, and more than a quarter (29 percent) handle bank account details, noted the company, citing a survey of 1,001 SMB owners and decision makers from Microsoft and YouGov.

      Outlook gains information protection features that restrict how sensitive data can be used in email. For example, SMBs can now set encryption policies that prevent users from copying sensitive data into other apps, according to Microsoft.

      Expanding on the encryption theme, Microsoft 365 Business customers can now enforce BitLocker for device-wide protection. BitLocker is full disk encryption technology used by Windows desktop operating systems. Lastly, users can now set policies that properly archive and preserve emails for compliance and data protection purposes.

      Avatar
      Pedro Hernandez
      Pedro Hernandez is a contributor to eWEEK and the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Previously, he served as a managing editor for the Internet.com network of IT-related websites and as the Green IT curator for GigaOM Pro.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Information

      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×