Finding and Understanding Your Microsoft Secure Score

Microsoft Secure Score is a powerful security analytics tool that serves as a baseline for your organization's security health. By assigning a score based on the number of recommended security actions taken, it provides a clear, quantifiable measure of your security posture. The higher the score, the better protected your organization is against potential threats.

Understanding your Microsoft Secure Score is the first step towards identifying vulnerabilities and taking proactive measures to address them. This tool evaluates multiple security aspects, including identity, device, apps, and data, ensuring a comprehensive overview of your security stance.

How to Access and Interpret Your Secure Score

Accessing your Microsoft Secure Score is straightforward. Simply navigate to the Microsoft 365 Defender portal at https://security.microsoft.com/securescore. Here, you will find an overview page displaying your secure score as a percentage, along with the number of points you've achieved out of the total possible points.

The dashboard also provides various views, such as 'Planned score,' 'Current license score,' and 'Achievable score,' to give you a fuller picture of your security posture. These insights help you understand where you stand and what steps you need to take next. By selecting recommended actions, you can see detailed instructions on how to implement them, along with their potential impact on your score and overall security.

Why Your Secure Score Matters: Visibility, Recommendations, and Monitoring

A high Secure Score is more than just a number; it signifies robust security measures and a proactive approach to safeguarding your organization. With Microsoft Secure Score, you gain visibility into your security posture, receive actionable recommendations, and can continuously monitor your progress over time.

The tool not only highlights areas that need improvement but also ranks recommended actions based on their impact, difficulty, and user impact. This prioritization allows you to focus on the most critical vulnerabilities first, ensuring that your efforts yield the maximum benefit. Continuous monitoring helps you stay ahead of potential threats, making timely adjustments as needed.

The Consequences of Ignoring Security Gaps

Ignoring security vulnerabilities can have serious consequences for your business. From data breaches to financial losses, the risks are too significant to overlook. A low Secure Score indicates gaps in your security measures, making your organization an easy target for cybercriminals. To understand how a real cyber attack unfolds and how it can be thwarted, read our Anatomy of a Thwarted Cyber Attack.

Failure to address these gaps can lead to compromised sensitive information, legal repercussions, and a damaged reputation. In today's competitive business environment, such setbacks can be catastrophic. Therefore, it's crucial to take immediate action to improve your security posture and safeguard your assets.

What's Your Plan?

At Sentry Technology Solutions, we understand the complexities of navigating the digital security landscape. Our team of experts is dedicated to helping you improve your Microsoft Secure Score and fortify your security posture. Here's a simple 3-step action plan to get started that we use with clients, but you could use yourself to get started.

1. Assess Your Current Score: Begin by accessing your Microsoft Secure Score through the Microsoft 365 Defender portal. Understand your baseline and identify areas needing improvement.

2. Implement Recommended Actions: Follow the prioritized recommendations provided by Microsoft Secure Score. Have someone like our team look at those recomendations and help you decide what to do first.  Our team can guide you through each step, ensuring that you implement the necessary measures effectively.

3. Continuous Monitoring and Improvement: Security is an ongoing process. Regularly monitor your Secure Score and make adjustments as needed. Create a rythm of accountability where you look at your score and make sure you're staying upto date as security needs change.

For more information on how Sentry could be your trusted give us a call (352-241-6238) or schedule a quick meeting today.

Learn more about Sentry and Cyber Security here.