The Microsoft 365 Security Gaps You May Not Know About

Microsoft 365 is an essential part of how many businesses operate. From emails and file sharing to collaboration and communication, it provides a powerful platform that helps teams stay connected and productive.

Behind the scenes, Microsoft 365 has hundreds of configuration options that determine how users access information, which applications they can connect to and how company data is protected. Some of these settings may not be configured correctly, while others can be changed or disabled over time without anyone realising.

This is where Microsoft 365 Security Hardening comes in. But what exactly does this involve, and why is it important for keeping your business secure?

Let’s explore some of the common security gaps businesses may be overlooking, before looking at how security hardening can help ensure important protections remain in place.

The Hidden Security Gaps in Microsoft 365

Every business using Microsoft 365 has its own tenant, which is simply the dedicated Microsoft 365 environment where its users, accounts, applications and security settings are managed.

Within this environment, numerous security controls help protect company information. However, if these controls aren’t properly configured or maintained, they can leave businesses exposed to unnecessary risks.

Here are some important areas businesses should be aware of.

1. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Multi-Factor Authentication, commonly known as MFA, adds an extra layer of security when someone signs in to an account.

Instead of relying on just a password, users must verify their identity through another method, such as an authentication app on their phone.

MFA is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of unauthorised account access.

But what happens if MFA isn’t enforced for certain users? Or if an important authentication setting is accidentally changed or disabled?

Even if MFA was correctly configured during the initial setup, businesses need to make sure the appropriate protections remain in place over time.

2. Administrator Access and User Permissions

Not everyone in your organisation needs access to everything.

Administrator accounts have additional permissions that allow users to make important changes to systems, accounts and security settings.

If too many people have administrator access, or users are given permissions they don’t need, it can increase the potential impact of a compromised account.

This is why businesses should follow what’s known as the principle of least privilege. Put simply, it means giving employees only the level of access they need to do their jobs.

By restricting unnecessary administrator privileges and regularly reviewing permissions, businesses can reduce the risk of unauthorised changes to their Microsoft 365 environment.

3. Third-Party Applications and AI Tools

As businesses adopt more digital tools, employees may want to connect external applications to their Microsoft 365 accounts.

These might include productivity platforms, automation services or increasingly popular AI tools.

While many of these applications can be useful, connecting them without proper oversight can create potential security and data privacy risks.

Some applications request access to emails, calendars, files or other company information.

These are known as app permissions, which simply determine what information an application is allowed to access and what actions it can perform.

Without appropriate controls, employees could unintentionally grant an unapproved application access to sensitive business information.

By managing application permissions and approval settings, businesses can have greater control over which external tools are authorised to access their Microsoft 365 environment.

4. Email Forwarding and External Sharing

Microsoft 365 makes it easy to share information and collaborate with people outside your organisation.

However, that convenience needs to be balanced with appropriate security measures.

For example, automatic email forwarding allows incoming messages to be sent to another email address. While this can be useful for legitimate business purposes, unauthorised forwarding to external addresses could result in sensitive information being exposed.

Similarly, external sharing settings determine how files and information can be accessed by people outside your business.

If these settings are too permissive, information could be shared more widely than intended.

Ensuring the right controls are in place helps businesses collaborate effectively while reducing the risk of unnecessary data exposure.

Why Microsoft 365 Security Isn’t a One-Time Task

One of the biggest misconceptions about Microsoft 365 security is that once the right settings are enabled, the job is done.

In reality, security settings need ongoing attention to remain effective.

Your Microsoft 365 environment is constantly changing. Employees join and leave, access permissions are updated, new applications are introduced and administrators make adjustments to support day-to-day business needs.

Each of these changes can potentially affect your security configurations.

For example, MFA might be correctly enforced today, but what happens if an authentication policy is changed next month?

What if someone is accidentally given unnecessary administrator privileges?

Or what if a third-party application is granted access to information it doesn’t need?

A setting that was correctly configured six months ago may not necessarily be configured the same way today.

These changes are sometimes referred to as configuration drift, which simply means security settings have moved away from their intended configuration.

Without regular monitoring, businesses may not realise something has changed until a security issue occurs.

It’s not just about turning security settings on. It’s about making sure they stay on.

How Continuous Microsoft 365 Security Monitoring Helps

With so many security settings operating behind the scenes, keeping track of every configuration manually can be challenging.

That’s where our Microsoft 365 Security Hardening service, included within our Identity Security package, comes in.

Security hardening is the process of strengthening a system by applying appropriate security settings, restricting unnecessary access and reducing potential vulnerabilities.

Using a specialist Microsoft 365 security management platform called Augmentt, our service helps us assess, manage and continuously monitor more than 100 critical security configurations.

These cover important areas such as MFA, administrator permissions, email forwarding, external access and application permissions.

Rather than simply reviewing these settings during an initial setup, the service focuses on maintaining a secure configuration as your Microsoft 365 environment changes.

This includes:

• Establishing secure settings: Reviewing important configurations and applying appropriate security controls.

• Ongoing monitoring: Regularly checking critical settings to identify changes that could weaken security.

• Identifying security gaps: Detecting when configurations have been altered or no longer match the required security settings.

• Alerts and remediation: Flagging issues so the appropriate team can investigate and take action to correct them. Remediation simply means addressing or fixing an identified security issue.

• Maintaining protection: Helping ensure important security controls continue to be applied and reviewed as your business evolves.

This approach helps businesses move away from relying on one-off security checks towards more proactive, ongoing management of their Microsoft 365 environment.

What Does This Mean for Your Business?

For businesses, continuous Microsoft 365 security monitoring provides greater visibility and confidence that important protections are being actively maintained.

In practical terms, this means helping ensure MFA remains enforced, unnecessary administrator privileges are restricted and appropriate controls are in place to manage which third-party applications, including AI tools, can access company accounts and information.

It also means keeping an eye on email forwarding and external sharing settings to help reduce the risk of sensitive information being exposed.

Perhaps most importantly, when a critical security setting is changed or disabled, it can be identified and addressed rather than remaining unnoticed.

With businesses relying heavily on Microsoft 365 for everyday operations, maintaining these protections is an important part of reducing security risks.

Microsoft 365 Is Powerful, but It Needs to Be Properly Managed

Microsoft 365 gives businesses an excellent platform, with a wide range of built-in features designed to support productivity, collaboration and security.

However, having access to these security features isn’t the same as ensuring they’re correctly configured and consistently maintained.

With so many settings operating behind the scenes, even small changes can introduce security gaps that businesses may not be aware of.

That’s why securing Microsoft 365 shouldn’t be treated as a task that’s completed once and forgotten.

The key is making sure your Microsoft 365 environment is properly configured, securely managed and continuously checked.

Through our Identity Security package, we help businesses manage critical Microsoft 365 security settings, monitor for unwanted changes and address potential gaps before they create bigger problems.

How Secure Is Your Microsoft 365 Environment?

Don’t assume your Microsoft 365 security settings are protecting your business simply because they were configured during setup.

Discover how our Identity Security package, including Microsoft 365 Security Hardening, can help your business stay protected through ongoing monitoring and management of critical security settings.

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