Events, Governance and Risk Management, Infosecurity Europe Conference
Brian Honan of BH Consulting talks about enabling standard security features in Microsoft 365
Matthew J. Schwartz (Euro Infosec) •
June 20, 2024
Brian Honan, CEO of BH Consulting, said Microsoft 365’s robust logging capabilities are essential to preventing security breaches. The recent intrusion into Microsoft 365 cloud environments, reportedly perpetrated by state-sponsored attackers targeting the United States, compromised multiple government accounts.
reference: NHS ransomware attack: Healthcare infrastructure is critical
The incident revealed that many Microsoft customers who store sensitive information in Microsoft 365 are using licensing plans that lack essential security features, and many plans don’t include logging capabilities, leaving them with no visibility into their data in the cloud.
“This is similar to Bill Gates’ memo from the early 2000s, where he said Microsoft and Windows need to be rebuilt to be more secure. Microsoft needs to go down that path again,” Honan said. “Microsoft needs to look at their entire offering, cloud and on-premise, with the view that security should be a core part of the product, not an extra cost.”
In this video interview with Information Security Media Group at Infosecurity Europe 2024, Honan also shared:
- The need for Microsoft to include mandatory security features as standard in all plans.
- risks posed by new technologies such as Microsoft’s Copilot;
- Why multi-factor authentication is important to protect sensitive data and prevent cyber attacks.
With over 20 years of experience in cybersecurity and data protection, Honan advises various government agencies, start-ups, multinational corporations, the European Commission and the European Union Cybersecurity Agency on information security issues.