SharePoint Online is surely the go-to collaboration platform for modern businesses. It’s cloud-based, flexible, and proudly built for easy and efficient collaboration.
Organizations worldwide are now adopting it everywhere to ease team communication and doc management.
However, migrating to the cloud is more than just a movement of files. It’s more about keeping your data regulations-compliant, properly safe, and easily utilizable while you migrate it.
One slip, and a big chunk of your sensitive info could end up where it doesn’t belong. Nobody wants that, for sure.
This blog post breaks down the top 5 security moves you need to make during a SharePoint migration. Follow these tips, and your transition to SharePoint Online will be stress-free.
Let’s dive in!
Tip # 1
Make Use of Microsoft’s Shared Responsibility Model
Security is not a one-sided affair when you move to SharePoint Online. You are part of the cloud where Microsoft takes care of many security matters while you have some responsibilities, too.
What Microsoft Handles
Infrastructure, which includes servers, networks, and app-level security, is handled by Microsoft. They take care of updates, uptime, and security.
What You’re Responsible For
You have full control over your data, the users with access to it, and access configurations. That includes creating permissions, handling identities, protecting your confidential knowledge & assets, etc.
Key Tips to Remember
● Classify Your Data: Tools like Microsoft Purview can be utilized to mark sensitive content.
- Control Access: Enforce MFA and create conditional access policies to control asset access.
- Encrypt Everything: Make sure your data is always encrypted during migrating (both during transfer and at rest)
Adopting this model helps you not neglect your role in securing SharePoint Online.
READ: Securing Entra ID – Addressing Modern IAM Security Threats
Tip # 2
Data Classification and Protection
There are different levels of data sensitivity, and not all data require the same level of protection. Before migrating, you need to know what’s really sensitive and then how to secure it.
Why It’s Important
- Critical internal data like customer details and trade secrets must be treated cautiously.
- Non-categorized data can offer security loopholes or lead to compliance violations as data moves across the network during migration.
Tools To Help You Keep Everything in Order
- Azure Information Protection (AIP): Classify data by sensitivity to apply consistent security measures.
- Microsoft Purview: Data Map – Know where sensitive data resides and act accordingly.
Best Practices to Remember
- Configure Access Rights: Provide access only to those users who need it.
- Monitor behaviour: Use advanced monitoring solutions to spot when files are moved or shared anomalously.
When you choose to categorize and protect data, you prevent expensive errors and ensure data transfer that is both seamless and secure.
Tip # 3
Access Control and Identity Management
When migrating to SharePoint Online, it’s critical to control who can access your data and in what capacity. Without strong access controls, even the best security tools won’t keep your data safe.
Why Access Control Matters
The security of your SharePoint data is entirely the responsibility of those who have access to it. Poor access controls and misaligned policies can allow unauthorized, often risky, users to view, download or share sensitive files. This is especially important when roles and permissions keep changing during migration, ultimately creating security gaps.
Top Access Control Hardening Strategies
Activate MFA (Multi-factor Authentication)
Passwords alone are not sufficient. MFA requires a second form of authentication i.e. a code sent to a phone or a biometric scan. Very easy to set up and also blocks most of the phishing attacks.
Apply the Conditional Access Policies
Grant or restrict access based on conditions i.e. location, device type, user behavior, etc. Similarly, limit access from devices unapproved by your organization and prevent logins from at-risk regions.
Review and Refine Permissions
When doing SharePoint migration, it will be a good move to perform some cleaning of stale or too permission-dependent roles. Follow the principle of least privilege, where users only have access to the files absolutely necessary for their jobs. No more, no less.
Monitor and Audit Access
Set up notifications for unusual logins and permission changes. SharePoint audit logs or even Microsoft Defender allows you to see who is accessing what, when, where, everything.
Best Practices to Keep in Mind
- Revoke access from exited employees or the ones whose role has changed.
- Use guest access controls to limit what external collaborators have access to and ensure they only access relevant stuff.
Remember, access control is not a set-it-and-forget-it task. This is a continuous process; It starts right when you kick off your migration and extends hand-in-hand with your SharePoint environment. You need to focus on tightening its identity management today so you can build a safe system tomorrow.
READ: Azure Automation for Microsoft 365 – How to Set Up Managed Identity
Tip # 4
Compliance with Regulatory Standards
So far, you may have realized that migrating to SharePoint Online isn’t just about moving files. It’s more about staying on the right side of the law.
There are some heavy regulatory standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA, which you must already be familiar with. They basically govern how you handle the sensitive data of your customers. If you ignore compliance needs during any migration initiative, you may have to face hefty fines, legal troubles, and issues like the damaged trust of your customers.
If you ever deal with personal, medical, or financial data, you probably need to comply with these rigorous regulations. These laws/regulations demand that you make efforts and arrangements to protect important customer data and restrict unwanted access to it. You are also expected to always ensure transparency in this data’s usage so authorities are always aware.
SharePoint migration is always high risk for compliance breaches. You definitely need advanced planning to make it happen with compliance intact.
How SharePoint Online Helps with Compliance
SharePoint Online has some built-in compliance tools & capabilities:
- Retention Policies: You can set rules on how long to keep specific types or clusters of data. You can also set up automate deletion when data is no longer needed. This reduces the exposure of older visions of important data like passwords, etc.
- eDiscovery: You can take its help to locate data for audits or even any legal requests quite quickly. When regulators or legal authorities ask for any specific record, eDiscovery is the real lifesaver.
What You Can Do to Ensure Compliance
- Map Your Data: Pinpoint sensitive and regulated data before migration. Incorporate Purview to label crucially sensitive files and track their movement and usage.
- Set Policies Before Migration: Set up policies for data retention, access, and sharing. It immediately makes your data compliant right when it’s migrated to the destination.
- Train Your Team: Employee training on data handling procedures. The importance of compliance should be known to everyone associated.
- Test and Validate: Run tests before completion. Ensure data is safe before anything and that your policies apply as expected.
- Document Everything: Your migration plan, policies, and audits, everything should be maintained on documents. If regulators come knocking, this helps you show that you are compliant.
Compliance isn’t just about avoiding penalties but also protecting customers. Following the migration, keep assessing policies and monitoring audit logs for compliance.
Tip # 5
Security Monitoring and Threat Detection
Migrating to SharePoint Online is only the start. Once you’re up and running, security monitoring is your last line of defence. The threats don’t stop when you migrate, so neither should your diligence.
Why Monitoring Matters
However, cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated. Since it only takes one weak point for your assets to fall prey to phishing plans or insider risks, any lack of proper monitoring can cause breaches that may go undetected until it is too late. This is why monitoring proactively and threat detection is critical.
Tools to Strengthen Monitoring and Detection
- Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Prevents phishing, malware and ransomware attacks by providing additional security services. It can also detect advanced threats to stop suspicious activity before it spirals out of control.
- Azure Sentinel
A cloud-native SIEM tool that aggregates security data. It allows you to recognize patterns, assess threats, and react quickly.
- SharePoint Audit Logs
They allow you to monitor user activity, such as logins, file edits, and permission changes, to identify odd behavior.
READ: Mastering Tenant-to-Tenant Migrations
Actionable Tips for Effective Monitoring
Set up alerts for abnormal behavior, i.e., bulk downloading of files, failed logins, or changes in permissions. This allows you to take action ahead of time.
- Audit Regularly
Review audit logs to look for trends or anomalies. Look for behaviours like unusual login habits, access to private files, or unwanted sharing.
- Use AI & Automation
Use AI-powered tools like Azure sentinel to automate threat detection. These tools can process large quantities of data well beyond human ability and identify associated risks more quickly than traditional methods.
- Secure Endpoint Devices
Make sure that only the compliant devices based on your organization security policies can access SharePoint Online. Implement policies using Microsoft Endpoint Manager.
- Establish a Response Plan
Despite quality monitoring, breaches may emerge. An effective incident response plan helps you contain the threat and recover quickly.
Best Practices to Keep in Mind
● Keep your threat monitoring tools up to date.
- Teach your teams to identify signs of foul play and report it without delay.
- Arrange security drills to see if you monitor attacks and respond appropriately.
Monitoring is not a one-time process; it is an ongoing journey. Establishing sound security monitoring and using intelligent tools allow you to grasp future threats and long-term protection for your SharePoint environment.
READ: Overcoming Legacy System Challenges with Modern Technology
Conclusion
Migrating to SharePoint Online demands optimal collaboration, and security matters must take precedence.
Let’s recap the five key considerations for SharePoint Online Migration
- Shared Responsibility Model: Get familiar with this model and know what Microsoft secures and what’s on you.
- Classify and Protect Data: Identify sensitive data and secure it prior to migration.
- Advance Access Control: Limit exposure with MFA and conditional access.
- Compliance: Make sure that your processes meet regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA.
- Threat Monitoring & Detection: Deploy strong monitoring and detection to identify breaches early.
Proactive planning and smart use of Microsoft’s tools like Defender and Purview are essential. Combine these with third-party solutions wherever needed, and you can conduct a secure transition. If you adopt the right approach, you can migrate confidently and protect your data every step of the way.
Professional SharePoint Migration Services By WME
Planning to migrate to SharePoint Online? WME has your back. We’ll handle the tough technical and strategic stuff, so you don’t have to worry about anything. We have got experts who handle everything related to your SharePoint migration: be it securing your data or ensuring compliance, we are here to make this transition a breeze.
Our team knows SharePoint inside and out, and we’ll get you up and running without a hitch. We will make sure your migration is as errorless as possible.
Hit us up – WME is here to help!
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