Gartner Research

Understanding and Implementing Security in Office 365: Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business and Teams

Published: 31 January 2019

Summary

Organizations have security concerns as they are planning or rolling out Office 365. To help technical professionals select the right mix of Microsoft and third-party controls, this report assesses Office 365’s security capabilities for email and collaboration.

Included in Full Research

  • Basic Security
    • Exchange Online Protection
    • SharePoint/OneDrive Anti-Malware (Updated)
  • Advanced Security
    • Advanced Threat Protection (UPDATED)
    • Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (Updated)
    • Office 365 Cloud App Security (Updated)
    • Microsoft Cloud App Security (Updated)
    • Threat Intelligence (Updated)
  • Identity and Access Management
    • Multi-Factor Authentication
    • Administrator Roles Required for Security
    • Conditional Access
    • Advanced Threat Analytics
    • Azure Advanced Threat Protection
    • Azure AD Identity Protection
    • Azure AD Privileged Identity Management
    • Privileged Access Management (NEW)
  • Intune
    • Risk-Based Conditional Access
    • Intune APIs and Microsoft Graph (NEW)
  • Encryption (Updated)
    • S/MIME Encryption
    • Azure Information Protection for Office 365
    • Office 365 Message Encryption (Updated)
    • Customer Key (NEW)
  • Data Protection
    • Azure Information Protection
    • Data Loss Prevention in Security & Compliance Center
    • Advanced Data Loss Prevention in MCAS
    • Advanced Data Governance
  • Network Access
    • Tenant Restrictions
  • Microsoft Clients
    • Office
    • Outlook
    • OneDrive for Business
  • Office 365 Security Management
    • Administration Consoles
    • Office 365 Management Activity API
    • Microsoft Secure Score (Updated)
  • Audit and Logging
    • Office 365 Audit Log Search (NEW)
    • Customer Lockbox
  • PowerShell Security and Management (NEW)
  • Strengths
  • Weaknesses
  • Leverage MFA, Azure AD PIM and Azure AD Identity Protection for Administrators and Other High-Privilege Users
  • Deploy OCAS, MCAS or a Third-Party CASB for Added Visibility and Security in Off-Premises and BYOD Scenarios
  • Evaluate AIP, CAS or Third-Party DLP Solutions to Fill the Enterprise-Feature Gaps in SharePoint and OneDrive for Business
  • Deploy ATP’s Sandboxing and URL-Scanning Capabilities
    • Advanced eDiscovery
  • Consider BYOK or HYOK for AIP With SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business, If Required for Compliance
  • Do Not Consider Azure ExpressRoute for Office 365 as a Security Control
  • Augment Office 365 Security With Third-Party Security Solutions to Close Current Gaps
  • Microsoft Data Center and Application Security

Analysts:

Patrick Hevesi

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