E5 Security and Compliance tools

If you’ve recently upgraded to Microsoft 365 E5, you’re likely aware of its extensive features but may feel overwhelmed by the complexity of implementing and securing it effectively. E5 is not just an upgrade from E3; it’s a comprehensive package tailored for advanced security, compliance, and analytics, ideal for larger organizations.

What Do You Get In E5?

At the heart of E5’s security offering are tools like Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Defender for Identity, and Defender for Endpoint, each providing a layer of protection against sophisticated cyber threats. Implementing these tools correctly is crucial for your organization’s cybersecurity posture. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is also included, offering advanced security and governance features for cloud-based applications.

In terms of compliance, E5 stands out with Microsoft Purview. This suite includes a range of tools for data governance and risk management, such as Purview Compliance Portal, Compliance Manager, Audit, Data Loss Prevention, and Insider Risk Management. These tools are essential for adhering to various data privacy regulations and avoiding potential fines.

Scalability is a key advantage of E5. Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, E5 can adapt to your needs. Its modular components allow for tailored solutions, and cloud-based delivery ensures flexible provisioning and deployment.

The use cases for E5 are particularly relevant for large enterprises and organizations with high compliance needs, like those in finance, healthcare, and legal services. The comprehensive E5 security and compliance tools, including advanced threat protection and insider risk management, make E5 a strong fit for businesses prioritizing data security.

Microsoft Defender

Lets explore some of the security tools included in Microsoft 365 E5:

Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Defender for Office 365 is included in your E5 package, provides a robust defense mechanism against a variety of cyber threats. This advanced security solution extends beyond the capabilities of the traditional free Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and encompasses a range of features designed to protect against malware, phishing, and other sophisticated cyber-attacks.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

This component of the E5 package offers advanced endpoint security, including behavioral-based threat detection, endpoint detection and response (EDR), and automated investigation and remediation. Additionally, it provides detailed reports on current cybersecurity threats and recommendations for addressing them.

Microsoft Defender for Identity

This feature focuses on identity-based threat detection by monitoring and analyzing user activities and information across your network. It helps to identify potential threats based on identity behaviors and also compliments Privileged Identity Management to secure and manage privileged accounts and access within the organization.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

This tool provides cloud application security, offering deeper visibility, comprehensive controls, and enhanced protection for your cloud applications. It includes features for detecting and assessing Shadow IT.

Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management

Exclusive to the E5 package, this feature employs a risk-based approach to the discovery, prioritization, and remediation of software vulnerabilities.

Microsoft Defender’s capabilities also include detecting abnormal behavior, thus adding an advanced layer of security against potential zero-day threats. Its features encompass phishing defense with AI-driven analysis, malware protection with advanced scanning algorithms, real-time scanning of email attachments and links, threat intelligence for actionable insights, automated incident response, and attack simulation training for organizational preparedness against cyber threats.

Defender Set-Up

Setting up and managing Microsoft Defender can be challenging without the right skill set. Correct configuration of security policies is essential to avoid gaps in protection or overly restrictive settings. Additionally, interpreting alerts and understanding the context of security incidents requires expertise, making it crucial to align Defender’s settings with best practices and your specific organizational needs.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Set Up Tips:

• Install the Defender for Endpoint agent on your endpoints.
• Ensure devices meet the requirements needed, such as OS version and updates.
• Chose a suitable onboarding method for your company and deploy to your endpoints.
• Create device groups in the Defender Portal to manage policies and settings for different sets of devices.
• Configure and enable attack surface reduction rules.
• Configure and enable endpoint detection and response capabilities.
• Set up automated investigation and response capabilities.
• Consider professional services for complex deployments or specific compliance needs.

Microsoft Defender for Identity Set Up Tips:

• Install and configure the Defender for Identity sensor on your Active Directory servers.
• Ensure your network and AD environments meet the requirements for Defender for Identity. This includes proper network configuration, sufficient permissions, and suitable server placement.
• Download and Install the Defender for Identity sensor package from the portal.
• Configure Defender for Identity, specifying which domain controllers to monitor and configure data sources.
• Set up identity-based threat detection policies.
• Integrate it with your other Microsoft security solutions for extended protection.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Set Up Tips:

• Connect your cloud applications with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps.
• Set up policies for monitoring and controlling the use of cloud apps (Shadow IT Discovery).

Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management Set Up Tips:

• Enable vulnerability management in the Microsoft 365 Defender portal.
• Configure assessment scopes and settings to regularly scan for vulnerabilities.

Microsoft Intune

Microsoft Intune in the Microsoft 365 E5 suite offers more advanced features compared to the E3 version, including Windows Autopatch. Windows Autopatch is a significant addition, functioning as a fully managed patching service that simplifies vulnerability management. This service automates the update process for Windows and Microsoft 365 applications, reducing the administrative workload and enhancing the overall security posture.

Intune in E5 provides comprehensive solutions for device and application management, critical for maintaining enhanced security across an organization. It enables you to enforce security policies, configure settings on various endpoints, and manage a range of devices and applications. This is particularly important in securing Microsoft 365 environments and reducing potential attack surfaces.

Especially relevant in remote or hybrid work environments, Intune supports secure access to company resources on both personal and company-owned devices. It offers a robust platform for organizations looking to strengthen their security posture through effective device management and the enforcement of security policies.

Intune Set-UP

Setting up and managing Microsoft Intune can be complex without in-depth knowledge. Common challenges include defining and applying appropriate policies, which can lead to inadequate security or overly restrictive settings that impede productivity. Troubleshooting can also be intricate, requiring a good understanding of how Intune interacts with various devices and applications.

To effectively set up Microsoft Intune, consider the following steps:

Enrollment and Configuration: Start by enrolling devices into Intune through self-enrollment for users or automated enrollment for corporate devices, depending on what suits your organization best.

Device Compliance Policies: Establish policies to ensure that only secure devices can access company resources, focusing on requirements like encryption, password strength, and threat protection.

Application Management: Manage application deployment, including installing necessary apps and restricting unapproved apps.

Conditional Access Policies: Implement policies that grant access to company resources only under certain conditions, such as device compliance or location.

Regular Updates and Monitoring: Keep Intune policies and device configurations regularly updated and monitor the Intune dashboard for device compliance and potential security issues.

User Training and Support: Educate users about device management policies and provide support for common issues.

These steps provide a foundation for using Intune effectively and should be tailored to the specific needs and IT environment of your organization. Aligning Intune configurations with best practices will help to maximize its efficiency and security capabilities. If in doubt, contact a professional who can help you get set-up right!

Microsoft Purview

Microsoft Purview is included in the Microsoft 365 E5 suite and it significantly enhances compliance and data governance capabilities for organizations. Microsoft Purview provides a comprehensive set of solutions that help in governing, protecting, and managing data wherever it resides. It integrates various solutions and services into a unified platform, offering visibility into organizational data, safeguarding sensitive data throughout its lifecycle, and helping to manage critical data risks and regulatory requirements.

The platform includes robust data security solutions to discover and protect sensitive information. These solutions encompass Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention, Information Barriers, Information Protection, Insider Risk Management, and Privileged Access Management. Additionally, Microsoft Purview facilitates data governance through unified solutions that manage data services across on-premises, multicloud, and SaaS environments, including Azure storage services, Power BI, and various databases and file services.

Furthermore, Microsoft Purview provides risk and compliance solutions, aiding organizations in minimizing compliance risks and meeting regulatory requirements. These solutions include Microsoft Purview Audit, Communication Compliance, Compliance Manager, Data Lifecycle Management, and eDiscovery.

Microsoft Purview Information Protection, a part of this suite, enables organizations to understand and manage sensitive and business-critical data across their environments. It offers built-in labeling and information protection in Microsoft 365 apps and services, intelligent classifiers for accurate data classification, a unified admin console for configuring and managing policies, and an extensible platform to extend protection to non-Microsoft apps and services.

Purview Set-Up

For effective setup and management of Microsoft Purview, it is essential to classify data, create tailored data governance policies, implement Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies, regularly monitor and report on compliance and data management, and educate employees about data governance policies and best practices. Setting up and managing data governance and compliance policies for Microsoft Purview can be challenging without expertise. Users might find it difficult to correctly identify and classify sensitive data, leading to potential compliance risks. Nobody wants that!

Data Classification: Start by classifying data. Identify sensitive and critical data across your organization.

Policy Creation: Create data governance policies tailored to your organization’s compliance needs.

Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Implement DLP policies to prevent sensitive data from being shared inappropriately.

Monitoring and Reporting: Regularly monitor and generate reports to track compliance and data management.

User Training: Educate employees about data governance policies and best practices.

Considerations

When planning the implementation of E5’s features, it’s important to prioritize areas like threat protection, data governance, and compliance. Given the advanced nature of E5’s capabilities, ensuring that your IT team is well-versed in these new features is essential. This may require additional training, especially if moving away from third-party security tools to an all-Microsoft setup, as E5 offers a different set of tools and functionalities.

The gradual rollout of new features is recommended. This approach allows for monitoring the impact of these features and making necessary adjustments to settings. It’s also important to provide comprehensive training to all users on the new security protocols and features. This ensures that everyone understands how to use these tools effectively, maximizing the benefits of the upgrade.

In terms of specific features, E5 provides enhanced capabilities over E3 in areas such as identity and endpoint security, email security, and data governance. For instance, while E3 includes basic conditional access and identity management tools, E5 offers more sophisticated identity security measures, including detection of atypical login behaviors and advanced conditional access controls. Similarly, E5 enhances endpoint security by upgrading Microsoft Defender into a more robust endpoint detection and response solution.

In terms of email security, E5’s Defender for Office 365 provides more comprehensive scanning capabilities, including scanning attachments and links and tools for creating attack simulation campaigns and trainings. Data governance is also significantly bolstered in E5, with tools for detecting and actively keeping data secure across various platforms and devices.

For organizations considering the upgrade, especially those undergoing significant growth or adopting remote or hybrid work models, the move to E5 can offer a more integrated and secure digital workspace. The consistency and depth of features provided by E5, such as collaboration tools and advanced security measures, can be particularly beneficial in a fragmented application landscape.

E5 Security and Compliance Tools

Set-up Guidance and Tips

Levacloud specializes in assisting businesses with their E5 security and compliance tools. We set everything up to best practices, with your unique business needs in mind!

We offer expert guidance in setting up and managing Microsoft Defender for Office 365. Our services also include configuring and maintaining Microsoft Intune and implementing Microsoft Purview to enhance your data governance and compliance strategies.

We help businesses who have upgraded to Office 365 E5 implement their new security and compliance features with confidence. Maximize your current licensing and let us assist in establishing you a strong cybersecurity base for your organization.

We keep the process simple. We work with your IT team “over the shoulder”, which allows them to get familiar with the tools and provides built in training. We record all sessions for you, so you can utilize the videos to train incoming staff too!

Reach out today with any questions, we are happy to help.