Cloud-based solutions offer many benefits, such as scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency, but they also pose new challenges and risks that must be addressed.
One of the most common cloud solutions is Software as a Service (SaaS), which allows users to access applications and data over the Internet without installing or maintaining them on their devices. SaaS solutions can help companies improve their productivity, collaboration, and innovation, but they also introduce new risks, such as data breaches, compliance violations, unauthorized access, and insider threats.
To mitigate these risks, companies need to adopt risk management best practices for SaaS-based solutions, such as:
- Conducting a thorough risk assessment of the SaaS provider and the solution, including its security, privacy, reliability, and performance features.
- Establishing clear roles and responsibilities for managing and monitoring the SaaS solution, including defining who has access to what data and how it is protected.
- Implementing policies and controls to ensure compliance with relevant regulations and standards, such as GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, etc.
- Educating and training employees on using the SaaS solution safely and responsibly and reporting any incidents or issues.
- Reviewing and updating the risk management plan regularly to reflect any changes in the SaaS solution or the business environment.
Microsoft 365 (M365), a leading SaaS solution, offers a comprehensive suite of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools for businesses of all sizes. Microsoft 365 helps companies achieve their goals and stay ahead of the competition, but it also requires effective risk management to ensure its optimal use and security.
To help companies manage their risk in Microsoft 365, Microsoft offers a range of risk management solutions that leverage its cloud platform, Azure. These solutions include:
Purview Insider Risk Management
This solution helps companies detect and prevent insider threats in Microsoft 365, such as data leaks, fraud, sabotage, or intellectual property theft. It uses advanced analytics and machine learning to identify risky behaviours and activities across Microsoft 365 apps and services, such as Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange. It also provides alerts, investigations, and remediation tools to help companies respond to insider risks quickly and effectively.
Purview Privacy Risk Management
This solution helps companies protect their sensitive data in Microsoft 365 from unauthorized access or exposure. It uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing to discover and classify data across Microsoft 365 apps and services, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc. It also provides policies and actions to help companies apply data protection measures, such as encryption, masking, retention, and deletion.
Purview Communication Compliance
This solution helps companies monitor and enforce compliance policies for communication in Microsoft 365. It uses machine learning and text analytics to scan messages and attachments across Microsoft 365 apps and services, such as Teams, Yammer or Outlook. It also provides alerts and reports to help companies identify and address potential compliance issues or violations.
Purview Information Barrier
This solution helps companies prevent conflicts of interest or insider trading in Microsoft 365. It uses rules and policies to restrict communication and collaboration between groups of users who should not interact with each other due to regulatory or ethical reasons. It also provides audit logs and reports to help companies verify compliance with information barrier policies.
By using Microsoft Purview solutions, companies can enhance their risk management capabilities in Microsoft 365 and enjoy the benefits of cloud-based solutions without compromising their security or compliance. Contact us to learn more about Microsoft Purview.
