You’ve moved to the cloud, and your team is collaborating through Microsoft 365. Productivity has improved, but is your security keeping up? Relying on default settings is a risk few Singapore businesses can afford to take. The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) regularly highlights threats that exploit configuration gaps, including phishing attacks and data breaches. In this guide, we’ll walk through the critical settings you should review to turn Microsoft 365 into a strong, resilient foundation for protecting your business data.
Fortify Your Front Gate: Identity and Access Control
Think of user accounts as the front gate to your entire digital workplace. This is an area where security cannot be taken lightly. The first and most critical step is enforcing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for every user, without exception. Microsoft reports that MFA alone can block over 99.9% of account compromise attacks. That’s a huge return for a minor inconvenience. Don’t just stop there, though. You must also disable legacy authentication protocols in your admin centre, as these older methods don’t support MFA and are a favourite entry point for attackers. From there, implement Conditional Access policies to introduce more intelligent controls. These policies allow you to restrict sign-ins from countries where your organisation has no presence or require devices to meet compliance standards before accessing company email and data. Finally, carry out a thorough review of administrative roles within Azure AD. Ask whether each user truly needs elevated privileges. Applying the principle of least privilege significantly limits the impact of a potential account compromise. For organisations that prefer to offload this complexity, managed IT services can provide continuous monitoring and governance of identity and access controls.
Guard Your Crown Jewels: Data Protection Configurations
Once you have control over who can access your environment, the next priority is safeguarding what matters most: your data. Sensitive information such as client NRIC numbers, financial forecasts, and contractual documents requires active protection across SharePoint, OneDrive, and Outlook. Begin by reviewing external sharing settings across your Microsoft 365 tenant. Allowing documents to be shared with anyone using a link introduces unnecessary risk. To reduce the likelihood of data leakage, consider implementing Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies that actively monitor and control how information is shared. For example, DLP policies can be configured to scan outgoing emails for identifiable patterns such as Singapore NRIC numbers and automatically block messages being sent to external recipients. This helps prevent unauthorised disclosure of personal data and supports your organisation’s obligations under the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). In addition, enable advanced email protection to provide a second layer of scrutiny for messages entering your organisation. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 features such as Safe Attachments and Safe Links can detect and neutralise malicious content before it reaches users’ inboxes, significantly reducing the risk of malware and phishing attacks.
From Set-Up to Vigilance: Monitoring and Ongoing Management
Security is not a one-time configuration exercise, but an ongoing cycle of monitoring and improvement. A critical first step is ensuring that the Unified Audit Log is enabled. This log captures user and administrator activity across your Microsoft 365 tenant and serves as essential forensic evidence should an incident occur. To support continuous improvement, Microsoft provides Secure Score within the Microsoft 365 Defender portal. Rather than a pass-or-fail assessment, Secure Score is a dynamic benchmark that evaluates your current configurations and presents a prioritised set of actions to strengthen your security posture. Recommendations may include enabling mailbox auditing or reviewing unusual sign-in behaviour. Staying ahead requires establishing a regular cadence for reviewing and acting on these insights, ideally on a monthly basis. For many organisations, managing this level of ongoing oversight internally can place a strain on limited resources. As a result, many local firms turn to managed IT support in Singapore to gain access to dedicated expertise and consistent security governance.
Don’t Navigate This Complexity Alone
Managing admin portals and navigating complex security terminology can quickly overwhelm business owners or IT teams. With real risks at stake, overlooking even a single critical setting could have serious consequences. At Managed IT Asia, we provide a specialised Microsoft 365 Security Health Check to ensure your configurations are secure and compliant. If you are not sure if your Microsoft 365 environment is secure, contact Managed IT Asia today and let us help you ensure your business is protected.
Article FAQ
Why is MFA the most important setting for my Singapore business?
Multi-factor authentication is one of the simplest and most powerful security steps that you can take. By adding an extra layer of protection beyond passwords, you are protected against phishing and other attackers, even if login details are stolen. MFA is a must-have for local businesses, especially because of the risk being frequently highlighted by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore.
How do DLP policies help with PDPA compliance?
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies in Microsoft Purview automatically detect and protect sensitive personal data, like NRIC numbers. DLP acts as a practical and technical safeguard that supports your responsibilities under the Personal Data Protection Act by stopping this data from being shared or sent outside your organisation without approval.
What is the Microsoft Secure Score, and is it reliable?
The Microsoft Secure Score is a free, built-in tool within your admin portal that gives you a numerical assessment of your security posture. It’s highly reliable for guidance because it analyses your specific configurations against Microsoft’s security benchmarks and provides a prioritised list of improvements, helping you focus your efforts where they matter most.
We’re a small business. Is this level of security necessary for us?
Yes. Small and medium-sized businesses are often targeted precisely because attackers expect weaker defences. Strong security measures like MFA and DLP are essential for any business handling sensitive data and wanting to avoid downtime or disruption. For growing companies, our Managed Small Business IT services are designed to make enterprise-level security practical and affordable.
MANAGED IT ASIA, we are an IT Support, IT Solutioning and Managed IT Service Provider specializing in serving Small Businesses across Asia. Call us at +65 6748 8776 and let us manage your Small Business IT today!