Start the Conversation with Typetec
Submit your email and a member of our team will be in touch with you.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Microsoft 365 has become essential for many small businesses, offering a streamlined platform for communication, file sharing, and collaboration. But while it may feel like a straightforward, out-of-the-box solution, the reality is that its security settings are complex and require careful configuration.
Without internal IT support, it’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming your Microsoft 365 environment is secure by default. Unfortunately, that assumption can leave your data and systems vulnerable to unauthorised access, mismanagement, or even cyberattacks, all of which carry potentially serious consequences for your business.
This blog highlights five of the most common Microsoft 365 security misconfigurations affecting small businesses, and more importantly, explains why it's worth seeking expert support to resolve them effectively.
Relying on passwords alone is no longer sufficient to keep user accounts secure. Even strong, unique passwords can be compromised through phishing, brute force attacks, or exposure in a third-party breach. Once an attacker obtains credentials, they often face little resistance unless additional verification layers are in place.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) adds a powerful second layer of protection by requiring users to confirm their identity using a secondary method, such as a code sent via SMS, an authenticator app, or biometric factors like facial recognition or fingerprint scans. This dramatically reduces the chances of someone gaining unauthorised access based solely on a stolen password.
How to address it: Most Microsoft 365 subscriptions include MFA functionality at no added cost. It’s important to ensure that MFA is enforced consistently across all user accounts, not just administrators. Many attackers specifically target junior or non-technical staff, assuming their accounts are less protected. Enabling MFA across the board is a simple and highly effective starting point in improving your organisation’s overall security posture.
Microsoft 365 offers extensive file-sharing capabilities, which are valuable for collaborating with clients, suppliers and external consultants. However, these capabilities can also pose risks when not managed properly. By default, settings may allow sharing links that can be accessed by anyone, without requiring the recipient to log in or verify their identity.
This leaves room for documents containing sensitive financial information, customer details, or internal business data to be mistakenly accessed, shared, or downloaded by unintended parties. Even well-meaning staff members may unknowingly overshare, assuming link-based access means only the intended recipient can view it.
How to address it: Adjust the default sharing settings to require sign-in where possible, and limit sharing to specific individuals with appropriate permissions. You should also consider applying expiration dates to shared links and restricting file downloads when working with sensitive documents. Regular reviews of what has been shared externally can further help maintain control over your data. Educating users on the importance of secure sharing practices also reinforces these settings.
In Microsoft 365, the Global Administrator role provides complete access to all account settings, billing, user permissions and data. While this level of access is necessary for managing a Microsoft 365 environment, granting it to too many users can present a significant security risk.
It’s common for small businesses to assign Global Admin permissions during initial setup and then leave them in place indefinitely, sometimes for staff without technical responsibilities or appropriate security awareness. If just one of these high-privilege accounts is compromised, whether by phishing, poor password hygiene, or device theft, the entire Microsoft 365 environment could be exposed or altered.
How to address it: Limit the number of Global Admins to the absolute minimum required, ideally no more than two or three depending on the organisation's size. For other users, assign role-based access aligned with their responsibilities. For instance, some users might only need rights to manage user accounts, while others may require access to SharePoint or Teams settings. Employing the principle of least privilege ensures users see and access only what they need to perform their roles, reducing overall exposure.
Conditional Access policies are one of the most effective tools in Microsoft 365 for securing access to company data without adding unnecessary complication. These policies work by evaluating specific conditions, such as the location of a sign-in, the type of device being used, or whether a user has already authenticated with MFA, before granting access.
Without these policies in place, any user with valid credentials might access business resources from any device or location, making it much harder to spot suspicious activity in time.
How to address it: Create and implement Conditional Access policies tailored to how and where your business operates. For example, you might block access from specific geographic regions, or require MFA when users log in from personal devices or unknown networks. There should also be policies in place to safeguard applications with sensitive data, such as your accounting software or CRM. These customised policies help strike the right balance between convenience for your team and security for your organisation.
Legacy authentication protocols, including older email and messaging standards such as IMAP, POP3, SMTP and others, do not support many of the updated security features offered in Microsoft 365. They bypass mechanisms like MFA and Conditional Access, making them prime targets for attackers exploiting weak or outdated configurations.
What’s more, because these protocols are often not used actively within modern businesses, they can remain unnoticed in the background, still enabled and quietly weakening your overall defences.
How to address it: Review your organisation’s sign-in logs and application usage to identify whether these older protocols are still in use. If they are not essential, disable them completely to eliminate this potential vulnerability. In cases where they are required (e.g. for third-party email integrations), evaluate alternatives or use app passwords with limited scopes and expiration dates. This step, although less visible, can make a big impact on attack prevention.
Running a business without an in-house IT team already demands considerable effort. Most people don’t have the capacity, or the technical background, to dive into every aspect of cloud setup or security. It’s no surprise that small teams, under pressure to get things up and running quickly, often rely on the default settings provided by Microsoft 365.
Unfortunately, many of those default settings prioritise ease of use and flexibility rather than security. The platform is designed to serve everyone from startups to enterprises, meaning its full potential requires informed configuration. Without guidance, it’s all too easy to overlook important features or assume stronger protections are already in place.
Security isn’t a one-time consideration, it’s an ongoing responsibility. Microsoft 365 can be a powerful, business-enabling platform, but unlocking its full value and keeping it secure takes planning, expertise and follow-through.
By partnering with a managed service provider (MSP), you gain access to specialists who work with these tools every day. Rather than trying to navigate complex settings and terminology in your spare time, you can rely on experts to:
Engaging an MSP allows small businesses to enjoy enterprise-grade setup, support and protection, without needing to build out an internal IT department.
If you’re unsure whether your Microsoft 365 setup is configured securely, or if you already suspect there may be gaps, now is the time to take action. Security missteps can remain hidden until it’s too late, but with the right expertise, they’re straightforward to identify and fix.
Contact us today to arrange a conversation. We'll help you assess your current environment, explain where your risks are, and work with you to build a Microsoft 365 setup that supports your business goals, safely and securely.