Microsoft 365 Security Assessment: Identify Gaps, Harden Your Tenant
Expert Microsoft 365 security assessment for your tenant. We identify misconfigurations, improve your Secure Score, and provide a prioritised roadmap to harden email security, identity protection, data loss prevention, and compliance - then help you implement the fixes.
Book Security AssessmentWhy Microsoft 365 Security Assessments Matter
73% of Microsoft 365 tenants have critical misconfigurations: weak phishing protection, inadequate MFA enforcement, exposed data through external sharing, risky conditional access policies. Default Microsoft 365 settings prioritise usability over security. You're vulnerable out of the box.
Security assessment is step one of your security journey:
We guide you through the entire pathway. From finding gaps to fixing them to monitoring your environment 24/7.
Average Microsoft 365 Secure Score at first assessment is 42 out of 100. After our hardening services, clients typically achieve 80+. That improvement represents measurable risk reduction. Fewer successful attacks, better compliance posture, stronger data protection.
Microsoft reports 300 million+ phishing attempts targeting M365 users daily. Is your tenant configured to stop them?
Email, Identity, Data, Devices & Compliance
Email Security (Office 365)
- Anti-phishing policies protecting against BEC and credential harvesting
- Anti-spam and anti-malware configurations
- Safe Links and Safe Attachments deployment
- DMARC, SPF, and DKIM email authentication
- Impersonation protection for executives
- Mailbox intelligence settings
Identity & Access (Entra ID)
- MFA enforcement across all users and applications
- Conditional access policies blocking risky sign-ins
- Legacy authentication status (major MFA bypass vector)
- Risky user detections and remediation
- Password policies and protection
- Privileged access management for admin accounts
Data Protection
- Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies for sensitive information
- External sharing controls for SharePoint and OneDrive
- Encryption for emails and files at rest
- Sensitivity labels and classification
- Retention policies for compliance
- Information Rights Management deployment
Device Security (Intune)
- Device compliance policies and enforcement
- Mobile device management coverage
- Defender for Endpoint deployment and configuration
- Device encryption requirements
Compliance Posture
- GDPR compliance gaps and remediation roadmap
- ISO 27001 control alignment
- SOC 2 audit preparation
- NIS2 and DORA readiness for regulated industries
- Compliance Manager recommendations prioritised by risk
Microsoft Secure Score Analysis
Deep dive beyond the number. We contextualise Secure Score recommendations by business risk, implementation complexity, and user impact. Not all Secure Score points matter equally. We help you focus on what actually protects your business.
Deliverable
Comprehensive report covering 50+ configuration areas. Prioritised findings ranked Critical, High, Medium, Low risk. Implementation roadmap with timeline and resource requirements.
Timeline
1-2 weeks for full M365 tenant assessment from kickoff to final report delivery.
Deep dives available for specific areas: Email phishing protection and identity and access security.
How We Harden Your M365 Environment
Most consultants deliver a report and walk away. We implement the fixes with you.
Hands-on Implementation
We don't just recommend fixes, we implement them with you
Minimal Disruption
Security improvements without productivity impact
Change Management Included
User communication and training
Validation & Testing
Ensure controls work as intended before go-live
Documentation
Complete records of all changes and security improvements
Timeline
2-6 weeks from assessment completion to fully hardened environment (Secure Score 80+).
"They found 47 critical issues and helped us fix every one in 3 weeks"
Chief Technology Officer at AI75
We don't just tell you what's wrong. We fix it with you.
Hardening services can be standalone or part of the pathway to ongoing threat detection through Microsoft Sentinel or 24/7 security monitoring via MDR.
Microsoft 365 Security Outcomes
Measurable Secure Score Gains
Average improvement of 35-50 points within 4-8 weeks. We've taken clients from Secure Score 38 to 84. That's not just a number - it represents hundreds of security controls properly configured and protecting your business.
Reduced Phishing Success
Hardened anti-phishing policies reduce successful phishing attacks by 80-90%. Fewer compromised credentials. Fewer account takeovers. Fewer business email compromise incidents.
Protected Identities
MFA enforcement plus conditional access reduces account compromise risk by 99% according to Microsoft's own data. Organisations with MFA enabled block 99.9% of automated credential attacks.
Compliance Confidence
Meet GDPR requirements with documented data protection controls. Align with ISO 27001 security standards. Prepare for SOC 2 audits. Achieve NIS2 and DORA compliance for regulated industries. Auditable evidence of security controls.
User Productivity Maintained
Hardening doesn't mean frustration. We implement security controls that protect without disrupting daily workflows. Balanced approach: maximum security with minimal user friction.
Foundation for Advanced Security
Hardened Microsoft 365 environment is the foundation for advanced security services. CSPM monitors for configuration drift. Sentinel detects threats in your M365 logs. MDR provides 24/7 active protection. You can't effectively monitor an insecure baseline.
Real Client Success Story
ROI Perspective
Prevent one breach costing $150K-200K versus assessment and hardening investment. The math is simple.
From Assessment to Ongoing Protection
M365 Security Assessment
Comprehensive tenant audit across email, identity, data, devices, and compliance. Secure Score analysis with business context and risk prioritisation. Deliverable: detailed report with prioritised remediation roadmap.
Security Hardening
Implement prioritised fixes starting with critical findings. Email security hardening. Identity and MFA deployment. Data protection policies. Device compliance enforcement. Improve Secure Score to 80+ through systematic configuration improvements.
24/7 Protection & Continuous Monitoring
Typical pathway: 90% of assessment clients choose MDR Professional or Elite for complete ongoing protection.
Continuous Improvement
Quarterly security reviews assessing new risks. Emerging threat updates and detection rule enhancements. New Microsoft 365 feature hardening as capabilities expand. Security is ongoing, not one-time.
Customer Journey
A circular process ensuring ongoing security maturity
This journey starts with a Microsoft 365 security assessment, progresses through security hardening, and leads to Sentinel-powered monitoring or full MDR protection.
Why Assessment Clients Choose MDR
After hardening your M365 environment to achieve Secure Score 80+, you need ongoing protection to:
Detect threats
that bypass hardened controls (zero-days, sophisticated attacks)
Prevent security regression
via configuration drift monitoring
Respond to incidents
before they become breaches
What MDR adds to your hardened baseline:
- 24/7 monitoring of Sentinel alerts from your M365 environment
- Continuous Secure Score tracking (Professional/Elite)
- Defender for Cloud posture monitoring (Professional/Elite)
- Automated alerting when configurations drift from baseline
- Quarterly reviews ensuring hardening remains effective (Elite)
Typical investment timeline: Assessment 1-2 weeks. Hardening 2-6 weeks. Ongoing monitoring monthly subscription.
Natural progression: Start with M365 security assessment, integrate Microsoft Sentinel for M365, and progress to 24/7 security monitoring options.
A clear, streamlined process to secure your Microsoft 365 tenant.
Microsoft 365 Security Assessment Service Simplified
A Microsoft 365 security assessment is a comprehensive audit of your M365 tenant configuration, analyzing email security, identity protection, data loss prevention, device management, and compliance posture. We identify misconfigurations, security gaps, and hardening opportunities, then provide prioritized remediation recommendations with implementation support.
Our assessment covers Microsoft Secure Score analysis, email security (anti-phishing, anti-spam, malware filtering), identity security (MFA, conditional access, risky users), data protection (DLP, encryption, external sharing), device security (Intune compliance, Defender for Endpoint), and compliance posture – with actionable remediation roadmap prioritized by business risk.
Typically 1-2 weeks from kickoff to final report delivery. This includes data collection and analysis, Secure Score deep dive, configuration review across all security domains, and prioritized remediation roadmap creation. Implementation of recommendations (hardening) takes additional 2-6 weeks depending on scope.
No. Our assessment is read-only and non-intrusive. We analyze configurations, logs, and security settings without making changes or impacting user productivity. Remediation and hardening happen only after your review and approval of our recommendations.
You receive a prioritized remediation roadmap with specific Secure Score improvement targets. We then offer security hardening services to implement fixes – email security, identity controls, data protection, device policies. Following hardening, most clients transition to our MDR service for 24/7 monitoring and configuration drift detection ensuring your hardened environment stays protected. See MDR service tiers.
Secure Score is a useful starting point showing what could be improved. It doesn’t tell you HOW to fix issues, WHY they matter to your business, or what order to tackle them. Our assessment provides contextualized recommendations, business risk prioritization, implementation roadmaps, and ongoing support – not just a number.
A comprehensive Microsoft 365 security checklist covers: Multi-factor authentication (MFA) enforcement, conditional access policies, legacy authentication blocking, anti-phishing and anti-malware protection, DMARC email authentication, data loss prevention (DLP) policies, external sharing controls, device compliance requirements, audit logging, privileged access management, and security baseline alignment. Our assessment evaluates 50+ critical controls and provides prioritized remediation guidance.
Improving M365 security posture requires a systematic approach:
(1) Conduct comprehensive security assessment identifying gaps,
(2) Prioritize findings by business risk and compliance requirements,
(3) Implement security hardening across email, identity, data, and devices,
(4) Validate effectiveness through testing,
(5) Monitor continuously for configuration drift and emerging threats.
Our assessment-to-hardening-to-monitoring pathway typically improves Secure Score 35-50 points within 4-8 weeks.
Microsoft 365 security best practices include: Enforce MFA for all users without exceptions, block legacy authentication protocols, implement conditional access policies for risky sign-ins, deploy advanced anti-phishing protection with impersonation guards, enforce DMARC reject policy for email authentication, enable Data Loss Prevention (DLP) for sensitive data, restrict external sharing by default, require compliant devices for access, enable audit logging for security investigations, and implement just-in-time privileged access. Our assessment evaluates your compliance with all CIS Benchmark and Microsoft Security Baseline controls.