Article Microsoft EMS: Information Protection and Security
No matter how large or small your business is, you need to have a strategy in place to ensure company assets are safe.
By Isabel Ticlo / 8 Mar 2017 / Topics: Mobility
By Isabel Ticlo / 8 Mar 2017 / Topics: Mobility
The financial and reputable consequences that result from security breaches are monumental. Keep your system up-to-date with the latest information protection capabilities — and don’t give phishers a chance to reel in your critical data.
According to Stanford University, at the most practical level, securing information means:
Overall, it’s a combination of physical, administrative and technical controls that span across the entire business. This includes disaster recovery plans, training programs, alarm systems, firewalls and everything in between. If one part of the program is compromised, the entire system is at risk. As a result, sensitive data becomes vulnerable, theft may occur and the company could lose its credibility — and potentially suffer high restoration costs. Instead of stressing over flawed security measures, take preventive steps to keep pace with evolving security challenges.
When you move into a new place, you don’t freely hand out spare keys. When you leave for the day or go to bed for the night, you lock all of your doors. These are intuitive actions you take to protect yourself. You should give your users, devices, apps and data the same cautionary treatment.
Teammates will need to access applications, contact information and high-value resources in order to better serve their customers. While this means that there will be a lot of hands in the pot, you can prevent improper data use with security best practices. For example, awareness programs and management guidelines will help employees understand your company’s security protocol. On the IT side, your goal is to enable the safe sharing of information inside and outside your organization. To do so, you can implement a system with encryption and rights management to make sure you have complete visibility into who can and cannot have a “key” to your crucial data.
The number of businesses moving to mobile, cloud-based environments is rapidly increasing — and so are cyberattacks. According to an interview regarding the biggest cybersecurity threats in 2016, Derek Manky, a Fortinet global security strategist, stated “We are facing an arms race in terms of security.” Manky also shared, “Every minute we are seeing about half a million attack attempts that are happening in cyberspace.”
From physical locks on filing cabinets to access control lists for digital assets, information protection is necessary from every vantage point when it comes to keeping unauthorized individuals out of your critical company data.
However, you can equip your enterprise management landscape to uncover suspicious activities before they occur. By physically and virtually locking every door that leads to your data, you will ensure greater long-term productivity and security.
Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS), formerly known as Enterprise Mobility Suite, uses identity-driven solutions that are designed to provide secure access to the apps and resources your employees need — and detect threats before they arise.
EMS protects corporate information by limiting the usability of the data within a managed environment and by embedding access controls directly into encrypted files. EMS also automatically enrolls devices, then enforces policies that allow users to access applications on premises and in the cloud.
When you choose to integrate EMS into your existing system, you also get Azure Information Protection solutions.
Classify data by vulnerability.
With this feature, you can label data and rank assets by source, context and content. The process can be manually or automatically fulfilled. Certain users can be granted the privilege to override classifications with proper justification, but a majority of users will be prompted to treat sensitive data by its label.
Protect data anytime, anywhere.
Rest easy knowing Azure data protection services delivered through EMS include encryption and multi-factor authentication to make sure information is safe regardless of where it’s stored. Plus, authorized administrators can control who can access, print or share certain files to verify collaborative efforts are secure.
Add visibility and control.
Teams have the ability to track, analyze and create reports around data activity. You can closely monitor your shared information and use your findings for compliance and regulatory purposes.
Keep it simple.
While your data is valuable, so is your time. That’s why Azure Information Protection through Microsoft EMS offers data classification and controls that are already integrated into Microsoft Office — and can be implemented with just one click.
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