Organizations use SharePoint to store, organize, share, and access information from any device thanks to its powerful collaborative capabilities. However, keeping track of changes made to configurations and content can be a real challenge. Because of its collaboration advantages and ease of use, companies often share sensitive data on SharePoint, making it critical to ensure its security. In this article we will talk a little more in depth about what your company can do to secure as much as possible the resources and data of its SharePoint environment from prying hands and eyes.
In a world where information flows freely and collaboration knows no boundaries, Microsoft SharePoint emerges as one of the best collaboration tools. But as we enjoy the potential of SharePoint, we must remember that, with great collaboration, comes the need for even greater security. In the shadows lie threats such as uncontrolled site sharing, data loss, external sharing with untrusted domains, and more, caused both by skilled cybercriminals and simple human errors.
In today's digital landscape, the security of SharePoint Online it is essential for protect sensitive data and promote secure collaboration within your organization. SharePoint Online security includes a strong combination of infrastructure security, user authentication and permissions, content-level controls, and compliance with standards and regulations.
Every SharePoint Online site requires specific policies, workflows, and permissions, making it a complex infrastructure where monitoring changes can be a difficult process. If permissions are violated or assigned by mistake, users can add, view, copy, modify, or delete information that they should not have access to. Therefore, regular auditing of SharePoint permissions and content is critical to ensuring data protection and regulatory compliance.
By understanding these elements, organizations can effectively prevent unauthorized access, protect themselves from cyberthreats, and ensure that sensitive business content and personal data stored in SharePoint Online are securely managed and shared. This comprehensive approach to online security is essential for maintaining data integrity and confidentiality.
So, SharePoint administrators, if you feel stuck answering the same question over and over again, that is “How can I improve security in SharePoint?” , Don't worry: in the next few sections, we'll try to cover your back.
Microsoft reported that, on average, their cloud computing operations detect 1.5 million attempts every day to compromise their systems. Redmond professionals work hard to learn from these attempts, continuously improving their security and investing an annual budget of 1 billion U.S. dollars for security within their products.
In a nutshell, they dedicate an enormous amount of time and resources to ensure that the content offered to their customers is as secure as possible. Microsoft knows that you must be able to trust them when it comes to protecting your data.
From heavily protected, access-controlled data centers, to their experts constantly trying to hack their own systems, to the creation of a cybercrime prevention unit, this mentality of security and awareness permeates every program produced by Microsoft, including SharePoint.
Protecting your SharePoint environments is critical because this tool is often at the heart of collaboration and document management in many organizations. Among the main reasons to secure the data contained within them are:
SharePoint is a powerful tool, but it's not immune to vulnerabilities or unauthorized access if it's not used carefully.
No web platform is completely secure, and as a platform that hosts large volumes of business content and sensitive information, SharePoint is subject to web-specific cyberattacks. Security varies, but a large part depends on the user.
While SharePoint Online offers a lot in terms of security, it's not free from human error, and one of the most significant threats to a SharePoint environment isn't always an external hacker, but sometimes it's internal misconfigurations.
By understanding the most common mistakes, you can put yourself in a position to avoid them. Let's see some of the most common:
Essentially, while SharePoint offers robust security tools, their effectiveness depends on how they are configured and maintained. Being proactive, staying informed, and regularly updating your practices can help ensure that your 'fortress' remains impregnable.
To successfully implement business processes within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, the following skills are needed:
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Let's get to the heart of this article: What are the best practices to follow to improve the security of an ecosystem based on Microsoft SharePoint?
In this section we will try to present you with some tips and good habits that it would be better to implement in security management within the Microsoft collaboration platform. Some may already be known and implemented, others ignored or still unknown.
Whether you are a professional or have just started your SharePoint journey, let's refresh our preparation and see what they are.
The collaborative nature of SharePoint often requires sharing information with external parties. In these cases, information security must be the priority. Ideally, external sharing should be blocked, except for legitimate business needs.
All sites for external sharing should be isolated in a separate site collection to provide greater visibility and control. Isolating sites and educating employees on external sharing best practices helps reduce risks associated with privilege abuse or access by unknown third parties.
Anonymous sharing allows users to quickly share content without traceability. Although SharePoint has this functionality, it is recommended to disable it to limit unmonitored shares and to collect crucial information in the event of a data breach investigation.
Permissions can be assigned individually or through security groups.
SharePoint doesn't offer simple ways to identify and manage unique permissions on items. Although it may seem like a quick fix, the excessive use of item-level permissions can very quickly create an environment that would be understated to be vulnerable.
Instead, we try to use collections or folders as much as possible to assign permissions. This dramatically simplifies their management and at the same time significantly reduces the risk of associated vulnerabilities. Two birds with one stone.
Managing access and activities in SharePoint is essential to maintaining security and transparency. Assigning only one administrator per site or group offers several advantages in terms of control and accountability.
When there's only one administrator for a site or group, it's easy to assign responsibility for any changes or incidents. This clarity helps ensure that all actions are traceable and that the administrator is aware of their critical position. A single administrator can monitor and manage content shares, permission changes, and configurations more effectively.
Multiple administrators can then lead to overlays, configuration errors, or worse, unauthorized changes. Limiting the number of administrators therefore also reduces the chances of human error or abuse of privileges.
Having only one administrator should therefore be the practice, but it is still useful to designate a secondary backup administrator, with limited privileges. This ensures continuity in the event of the primary administrator's absence or unavailability.
Microsoft offers a wide range of security features integrated into SharePoint and the wider Microsoft 365 ecosystem. These features are designed to protect data, prevent breaches, and ensure regulatory compliance. To maximize the security of your SharePoint environment, it's essential to understand and make the most of these options.
Encryption is one of the first lines of defense against unauthorized access to data. Microsoft offers different levels of encryption to protect data both “in transit” (during transfer) and “at rest” (when stored in data centers).
Microsoft also integrates virus-detection capabilities directly into SharePoint Online, protecting uploaded files against potential threats with features such as:
Regarding the last point, we link to this to suggest the use of corporate antivirus software that completes the basic protection features offered by SharePoint, ensuring offline protection and full coverage for all files and devices, since large files (over 25 MB) may not be scanned directly by the basic functionality, as well as compressed or encrypted files.
Then there's more to talk about sophisticated tools for managing access to SharePoint accounts, such as:
Regular review of access rights is critical to ensure data security and to maintain effective control over the SharePoint environment. This process consists of periodically verifying who has access to what and if those accesses are still necessary or appropriate.
Recommended practices include:
The SharePoint environment is dynamic, with frequent changes to permissions, configurations, and content. Performing regular audits ensures a clear view of activities and helps to quickly identify possible threats.
We then schedule monthly, quarterly, or biannual reviews based on the complexity of your organization. This ensures that any anomalies are detected such as:
To carry out effective audits, we can use functions such as the integrated log system that can be configured to record specific events in a detailed and precise manner. Even tools like Microsoft 365 Compliance Center can simplify continuous activity monitoring.
And finally, we always try to provide clear and detailed reports to security managers to ensure transparency and compliance and assess the status of their security posture and examine possible additional strategies or actions.
The security of their digital environments in the contemporary technological landscape is more important than ever and it is essential for companies of all types and sizes to adopt the best security strategies and postures to defend themselves against modern cyber threats.
There's a reason why Microsoft has invested significant amounts of time and money to implement, expand and strengthen the cybersecurity capabilities of its products, and SharePoint is definitely no exception in this. However, the efforts of the Redmond company alone are not enough and it is necessary that users and administrators also do their part in protecting their data.
Through the security features implemented in SharePoint, administrators and IT departments can, with the right strategies and habits, dramatically improve their organization's cybersecurity and secure sensitive data and information quickly and efficiently. Speed and efficiency that, in the digital security landscape, can seriously make a difference and avoid disasters that can cost your business dramatic amounts of time and resources.
SharePoint is often the core of corporate collaboration and stores critical data such as financial documents, legal information, and personal data. Protecting this data is crucial to avoid breaches that could compromise confidentiality, cause reputational damage, and lead to legal or operational issues.
The most common vulnerabilities include misconfigured permissions, lack of regular audits, inconsistent or weak security policies, delayed system updates, and misuse of granular permissions, such as those assigned to individual items.
Protecting data in SharePoint requires an integrated approach. It is essential to enable features such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) and conditional access, conduct regular permission reviews, monitor activities with tools like the Microsoft 365 Compliance Center, and keep the system up to date with the latest security patches.
Yes, as long as external sharing is configured securely. Sites designated for external sharing should be isolated for better control. Anonymous sharing should be disabled unless strictly necessary, and expiration dates should be set for shared links. Additionally, employees must be trained on best sharing practices to avoid data compromise.
Microsoft provides advanced tools like data encryption in transit and at rest, integrated malware detection, and advanced access controls. Features like session limitation and conditional access reduce the risks of unauthorized access, and auditing solutions help track changes and activities.
Effective permission management involves using security groups to assign permissions instead of managing them individually. Avoiding item-level permissions helps reduce complexity and risk. Assigning one administrator per site or group, with a backup as needed, ensures clear responsibility and control.
Failing to update SharePoint can leave the system exposed to known vulnerabilities. Updates and patches not only introduce new features but also fix critical security issues. Delaying these updates increases the risk of breaches, data loss, and non-compliance with regulations.
Microsoft 365’s integrated auditing tools allow you to track activities such as permission changes, access from unusual locations, and modifications to sensitive files. These tools record events in detail and help identify anomalies or threats quickly.
Preventing human errors requires a mix of training and technology. Educating employees about security risks is critical, as is implementing clear policies such as mandatory use of complex passwords and MFA. Continuous monitoring of the environment helps detect misconfigurations or suspicious activities.
Regulatory compliance can be achieved by configuring SharePoint to align with standards like GDPR, HIPAA, or ISO 27001. This involves implementing strict access controls, conducting regular audits, and adopting adequate data retention policies.
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