Security & Protection

Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for users to reuse a single password for more than 1 account putting any data at risk should the details of those accounts fall into the wrong hands.  

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) works by ensuring users provide two or more methods of authentication before allowing access.  

Typically, these methods of authentication are as follows; 

• Something you know – This would normally be a password but could be an answer to a security question such as “What was the name of your first pet?” or “Where did you go to school?” 

• Something you have – This would be a physical object such as a mobile device, a token generator (like those used to access online banking) or a USB style key. 

• Something you are – Very similar to an Android/iPhone fingerprint scanner or a camera than can scan your face. 

Conditional Access allows internal and external users to view files and emails they already have permissions to see but also provides the ability and flexibility to apply additional configured rules which must be met before access is allowed. 

For example, a user with a company provided Windows 10 machine may have full access to emails via the Outlook software installed on the device.  When the same user is not in the office and using say a personal macOS device, accessing emails via the Outlook client can be blocked, forcing the user to read emails in Outlook on the Web instead. Additionally, functions such as downloading and printing can also be restricted. 

With Conditional Access, administrators can safely allow entry to Office 365 services such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Microsoft Teams while applying restrictions if needed. 

Policies can be created for numerous scenarios and can be applied to users or  devices providing additional security to data when it’s needed most.