The Importance of Strengthening Office 365 Security Compliance

Businesses across every industry utilize Microsoft's suite of email cloud services known as Office 365, and this tool has great capabilities for keeping information organized and accessible for later use. While it also has some built-in security features, these features are not necessarily robust enough in the area of compliance to be a one-and-done solution for your data protection needs. The good news is that you can supplement Office 365 security compliance features with other third-party software that helps your business stay compliant and protect important data.

Why Office 365 Security Compliance Matters 

Issues of security and compliance on Office 365 matter for several reasons. Here are a few of the most significant.

Protection for All Parties Involved 

Without the right security and compliance measures in place, any parties involved in your business's communication on Office 365 face increased risk. The personal data and information of individuals may be lost or stolen, for example, whether it's an employee or a customer.

Important contracts or other shared documents with third parties may fall into the wrong hands, which in turn can cause issues for that business-to-business relationship as well as forfeit important information to competitors or other parties that shouldn't have access to it.

If your business doesn't have strong security and compliance policies (and infrastructure) in place, you may find it more difficult to maintain trust with your team members, and this may lead to a higher turnover rate for its employees.

Public Reputation Maintenance 

Matters of compliance can also have a big impact on your business's reputation with customers, clients, and the general public. The more a company faces data leaks or related scandals, the more likely it is that it will lose the trust of the public. This can be especially consequential if your business handles the information of a great number of people. One of the worst things for any company to have to go through is a mass announcement of a data leak that could put the personal information of hundreds or even thousands of people at risk.

Avoidance of Fines 

Finally, federal regulatory entities such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (which is responsible for enforcing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (which protects the rights of the disabled) have outlined security regulations and best practices in their respective areas of governance. If your business is not compliant with these regulations, you may face pretty significant fines for each violation that occurs.

For example, ADA non-compliance can result in fines as high as $75,000 or more per violation, and HIPAA violations can be as much as $50,000 for each instance, depending upon the severity of the violation itself. Even for larger and more established and profitable businesses, these fines can potentially add up, and for smaller and medium-sized businesses, the fines can be devastating.

Areas of Office 365 Security Compliance To Strengthen 

While Office 365 has many built-in features for security compliance, there are several areas that you should strengthen with layered software protection. Here are some of the most important areas in which to do so.

Cloud Backups 

Having dedicated and reliable third-party software for regular cloud backups is absolutely key for any business. There is a great deal of data in any given Office 365 network, and it can quickly be lost as a result of human error or malicious activity. While Microsoft does perform some backups on its servers, it is not responsible for maintaining copies or backups of any of your data, so this is something you'll need to set up.

Encryption 

Office 365 security compliance features do include some encryption, but it's not robust enough to ensure the protection of businesses from things such as HIPAA violations. Having third-party software layered onto Office 365 can help cover all of your bases, adding valuable features such as end-user revocation (which could protect information from accidentally being sent to the wrong person). Extra encryption can also help prevent users from accessing data (whether on purpose or by accident) that they aren't authorized to access.

Ransomware Protection 

While Office 365 security compliance features do include some protections against ransomware and similar phishing attacks, it's best to fortify your email data with extra protection against these malware scams. Ransomware attacks can ultimately result in leaked or lost data, and the process of resolving such issues can use up valuable time and resources.

Better Organization of Security and Compliance 

Finally, the more organized and user-friendly your security and compliance infrastructure is, the more likely it is that you'll be able to use it for all it is worth. Depending upon which software you go with, having good third-party protection in place can also bring with it other helpful features such as an organized dashboard for monitoring threats and training programs for equipping your staff to better handle data. These kinds of features alone are often worth the investment in a layered approach to security compliance.

Strengthen Your Office 365 Security Compliance With Cloudficient 

If you're looking for a more secure approach to email data management, or to strengthen the built-in Office 365 security compliance features, contact Cloudficient today to find out how our cloud migration, data backup, and enterprise security software can fortify your IT infrastructure and protect your business. Our cloud migration solutions will take your data security and compliance to the next level.

With unmatched next generation migration technology, Cloudficient is revolutionizing the way businesses retire legacy systems and transform their organization into the cloud. Our business constantly remains focused on client needs and creating product offerings that match them. We provide affordable services that are scalable, fast and seamless.

If you would like to learn more about how to bring Cloudficiency to your migration project, visit our website, or contact us.