Pre-set default for ATP (Advanced Threat protection) as recommended by Microsoft

Microsoft has recently added a feature for analyzing security configurations found in the Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) and this blog post explains what the news means.

Easy to follow Microsoft's recommendations

In the past, IT security was often seen as something difficult and complicated. Even small configurations required consultants who tinkered and tinkered almost indefinitely. But with new smart standardized settings, Microsoft 365 users no longer have to get on the phone every time something needs to be changed. There are now functions to standardize the entire IT environment and by using these, you follow Microsoft's recommendations.

The new feature catches errors and ensures that everything is configured properly. There is no longer a need to build what is now built into the system. Microsoft's Configuration Analyzer is the place where you compare your own policy settings with Microsoft's recommended settings for EOP and Office 365 ATP.

Key settings for IT security

The default policy settings are not configurable; instead, they are optimized by Microsoft based on observations and experiences from different data centers. The aim is to keep malicious content out without disrupting your work processes. The preset means you have a central place to apply all the recommended settings for spam, malware, and phishing.

For you as an IT manager, it is easy to implement these settings for your entire organization. You don't need to bring in third-party analysis tools for your email security and avoid expensive consulting hours to get the right settings for your IT environment.

How the Configuration Analyzer works in brief

When you choose to implement Configuration Analyzer along with Microsoft's recommended security settings, you will get:

1. clear indications of your progress in the form of color codes:

Green: All settings in all existing policies are at least as secure as the protection profile. .

Yellow: A small number of settings in existing policies are not as secure as the protection profile.

Red: A large number of settings in existing policies are not as secure as the protection profile. This could be a few settings in many policies or many settings in one policy.

2. the ability to detect security gaps through testing and then suggest changes to settings and remedies if something is not right.

3. reduced lead times and rapidly increased IT security because Configuration Analyzer is already built into Microsoft 365.

Of course, despite pre-set recommendations, there will be situations where exceptions need to be identified. This requires experience if you want to avoid unnecessary mistakes that can lead to legitimate e-mail being stopped and not reaching its destination. This tool enables large parts of the work to be done at the touch of a button, which makes an implementation both faster and more cost-effective for the customer.