In this blog post, I will show you how to get started with Microsoft 365 Security and how to secure your tenant.
Tools
Microsoft 365 Security is a big topic, and today I will start by covering the tools that are needed for the job.
In the early days of Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) the Security tools were located within each product and service; for example, the tools for Exchange Online were located in the Exchange Admin Center.
Microsoft Security and Compliance
As the Microsoft 365 offering and services expanded, Microsoft released the Office 365 Security and Compliance portal which had both compliance and security tools combined under one roof. The portal still exists and is accessible from the following URL
https://protection.office.com/homepage
With more services and offering Microsoft decided to spill the portal into two portals. One portal for Security and another for Compliance only.
Security Portal
In the last 18 months Microsoft has been working very hard to split the tools and created a dedicated portal for Microsoft 365 security tools in the following URL:
https://security.microsoft.com/
The security portal has a much cleaner look and feels because it is focused on security tools only.
Within the portal, you will find the secure score of your tenant, which gives your tenant a security score best of best practices and tips on how to secure it.
Compliance Portal
The second portal is the Microsoft 365 Compliance Center, and it is a compliance focus only portal. The direct URL is:
https://compliance.microsoft.com/
The portal also houses the compliance score page, which assists you to keep your tenant with best practices of compliance.
Cloud App Security
The last tool that I would share with you is Cloud App Security which only comes with an E5 license. Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) is a real-time security broker service from Microsoft, that monitor and protect users in Microsoft 365.
If you have it enabled as part of your E5 license you can access it from the following URL.
https://portal.cloudappsecurity.com/
In the next blog post, we learn how to navigate and use the tools and services that Microsoft offer.