What Is Microsoft Secure Score and How To Increase Your Security [Updated 2024]

So, you’re a Microsoft 365 (formerly known as Office 365) customer. That’s great news. The Microsoft productivity suite can not only help your team perform their roles more efficiently and effectively, but also allow you to manage your data and information flow more securely. How? By effective security administration and reporting using Microsoft Secure Score.

What is Microsoft Secure Score?

Microsoft Secure Score is a comprehensive measurement of your organization’s security posture across Microsoft 365 services and other integrated products. Think of it like a credit score for your security status. It gives you a numerical score based on how well you’ve implemented security controls recommended by Microsoft. This score helps you understand your security strengths and where you need to improve.

How is Microsoft Secure Score Calculated?

Microsoft Secure Score is calculated based on the implementation of security controls across various Microsoft 365 services. Each control or action you implement contributes to your overall score. The score is represented as a percentage of the total achievable points, which reflects the security measures Microsoft deems important for your organization’s security posture.

Key Components of Secure Score Calculation

1. Security Controls: These are specific actions or configurations that enhance security. For example, enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA), setting up anti-phishing policies, or configuring data loss prevention (DLP) policies.
2. Weightage: Each security control has a specific weightage or points associated with it. More critical controls have higher points. For instance, enabling MFA might have more points compared to configuring mailbox auditing.
3. Completion Status: The calculation also takes into account the completion status of each action. Actions can be fully implemented, partially implemented, or not implemented at all. Partial implementation results in partial points.
4. Licenses and Subscriptions: The score is also influenced by the type of Microsoft 365 licenses and subscriptions your organization has. Some advanced security controls are only available with higher-tier licenses.
5. Third-Party Integrations: Secure Score also considers controls managed through third-party integrations or alternative mitigations. These are factored into the score once verified.

Detailed Breakdown of Secure Score Components

1. Identity and Access Management: This includes actions like enforcing MFA, blocking legacy authentication protocols, and implementing conditional access policies. These controls protect user identities and access points.
2. Device Management: Ensuring that devices accessing your network are secure. This includes actions like enabling BitLocker, enforcing mobile device management (MDM) policies, and restricting access from unmanaged devices.
3. Information Protection: This involves safeguarding sensitive information through DLP policies, data classification, and encryption. Ensuring that data is protected both in transit and at rest is crucial.
4. Threat Protection: Implementing measures to detect and respond to threats. This includes configuring Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, enabling anti-malware policies, and setting up automated investigation and response (AIR).
5. Security Posture Management: Regularly assessing and improving your security posture by reviewing security reports, monitoring Secure Score, and implementing recommended actions.

How to Use Microsoft Secure Score

Microsoft Secure Score should be used as a guiding tool to inform and prioritize your security-related decisions. Here’s how you can effectively use Secure Score to enhance your organization’s security:

1. Assessment and Baseline Establishment:
   • Start by assessing your current Secure Score. This will give you a baseline of your security posture.
   • Compare your score with industry benchmarks and organizations of similar size and profile. This comparison helps in understanding where you stand and sets realistic improvement goals.
2. Identifying High-Impact Actions:
   • Use the Secure Score dashboard to identify high-impact security actions. The actions are prioritized based on their potential impact on your security posture.
   • Focus on implementing actions that offer significant security benefits with minimal user disruption. For example, enabling MFA is a high-impact, low-disruption action.
3. Setting Target Scores:
   • Set a realistic target score based on your baseline assessment and the comparison data. This target will guide your security improvement efforts.
   • Microsoft Secure Score allows you to set and track progress towards your target score. This feature helps in maintaining focus and measuring success over time.
4. Action Planning and Implementation:
   • Create a detailed action plan to implement the recommended security controls. Assign responsibilities and timelines to ensure timely execution.
   • Utilize the step-by-step implementation guides provided for each recommended action. These guides include prerequisites, step-by-step instructions, and potential user impact.
5. Continuous Monitoring and Reporting:
   • Regularly monitor your Secure Score to track progress and identify areas that need attention. The score updates within 24-48 hours after implementing actions.
   • Use the historical reporting feature to generate reports for stakeholders. These reports help in demonstrating progress and justifying security investments.
6. Integrating with Security Operations:
   • Integrate Secure Score with your broader security operations and governance framework. Use it to inform risk assessments, audit preparations, and compliance efforts.
   • Secure Score can be integrated with other Microsoft security tools like Microsoft Defender for Cloud, providing a comprehensive view of your security posture.

Key Features of Microsoft Secure Score

1. Dashboard Overview:
   • The Secure Score dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of your security posture. It includes the current score, target score, and a breakdown of scores across different categories.
   • The dashboard also shows trends over time, helping you track improvements and identify regressions.
2. Recommended Actions:
   • Secure Score offers a list of recommended actions to improve your security posture. Each action includes a description, implementation guide, and the potential impact on your score.
   • Actions are categorized based on their impact, implementation difficulty, and user disruption. This helps in prioritizing actions effectively.
3. Comparison and Benchmarking:
   • Compare your Secure Score with industry benchmarks and organizations of similar size and profile. This comparison helps in understanding where you stand and sets realistic improvement goals.
   • Custom comparisons allow you to benchmark against specific industries, regions, or organization sizes.
4. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC):
   • Secure Score integrates with Microsoft Defender XDR Unified RBAC, allowing you to control access to Secure Score data. You can assign specific roles and permissions to manage security actions without giving full administrative access.
   • This feature enhances security by limiting access to sensitive information and ensuring only authorized personnel can make changes.
5. Integration with Microsoft 365 Lighthouse:
   • Microsoft 365 Lighthouse integrates with Secure Score, providing Managed Service Providers (MSPs) with an aggregate view of Secure Score across all managed tenants.
   • This integration helps MSPs manage security across multiple tenants effectively and ensures consistent security practices.

Real-World Use Cases of Microsoft Secure Score

1. Incident Response and Remediation:
   • Use Secure Score to prioritize security actions during incident response. For example, if a phishing attack targets your organization, Secure Score can help identify and implement anti-phishing policies to mitigate future risks.
   • Post-incident, use Secure Score to review and strengthen security controls to prevent recurrence.
2. Compliance and Audit Preparation:
   • Secure Score can be used to prepare for security audits and compliance assessments. By implementing recommended actions, you can ensure that your organization meets regulatory requirements.
   • Generate reports from Secure Score to demonstrate compliance efforts and provide evidence of security controls to auditors.
3. Risk Management:
   • Integrate Secure Score with your risk management framework to identify and mitigate security risks. Use the score to assess the effectiveness of existing controls and identify gaps.
   • Prioritize actions based on risk impact and implement controls to reduce overall risk exposure.
4. Security Awareness and Training:
   • Use Secure Score to drive security awareness and training programs. Highlight the importance of specific security actions and their impact on the overall security posture.
   • Encourage users to participate in security initiatives by demonstrating the tangible benefits of improved Secure Score.

Final Thoughts

Microsoft Secure Score is an essential tool for any organization using Microsoft 365. It provides a clear, actionable way to assess and improve your security posture. By understanding how Secure Score is calculated and using it to guide your security efforts, you can significantly enhance your organization’s security. For more detailed guidance or assistance with setting up your security configurations, feel free to contact us at A1 Technologies. As a proud Microsoft Partner, we can help you optimize your security and get the most out of your Microsoft 365 investment.

Rob Rattray

Rob Rattray is the Commercial Director of A1 Technologies, a Microsoft consultancy based in Australia. Rob's focus is settings the strategic and cultural direction for A1 Technologies, while also overseeing Sales and Marketing. Rob is passionate about business and helping good people do good things through technology.