How SharePoint Helps Companies Avoid Ransomware Attacks

Many organizations have amassed all of these cloud-based tools — some complementary, others competing — in an effort to address the needs of every department, team, or stakeholder group.

What ends up happening is, businesses are stuck managing ever-expanding data sets across multiple silos. And as a result – open the door to ransomware attacks and other threats that put the business at risk.

SharePoint directly addresses issues like poor alignment, lack of visibility, and productivity-blocking silos. Instead, users get a unified solution that allows organizations to build custom websites, portals, newsfeeds, and knowledge bases for every project team, business unit, partner, or customer segment.

What’s more, users can securely collaborate with internal and external stakeholders — on any device, no matter the location.

In this post, we’ll discuss SharePoint’s built-in security features and the platform’s role in strengthening your overall security posture.

SharePoint Online Ransomware Protections

SharePoint’s main benefit is that it makes it easy for users to access the information they need to do their jobs. The platform aims to simplify collaboration and knowledge sharing – offering a safe environment for building custom websites, apps, portals, and knowledge bases.

Built-in security features allow admins to secure sensitive customer data, manage users and devices, and defend themselves against incoming cyber attacks.

Here’s a quick look at how SharePoint protects your company from ransomware.

SharePoint Ransomware Protection Starts with Centralized Administration

According to recent Proofpoint research, SharePoint, OneDrive, and other enterprise cloud services are prime targets for phishing and brute-force attacks — with threat actors gaining entry via compromised or default accounts. What’s more, Proofpoint researchers found, is once ransomware attackers infiltrate the system, they can encrypt SharePoint and OneDrive files in a way that makes them impossible to recover from autosave versions or the recycle bin.

Microsoft automatically takes measures to protect your data — your data is protected both in-transit and at-rest, data is continuously validated, and there’s baked-in virus detection and version control capabilities. But — those protections aren’t enough on their own — particularly if identity and access management (IAM) isn’t a priority.

SharePoint Online allows users to manage content, data, sites, and users from a single interface – either in the Microsoft 365 admin center or via PowerShell (instructions for getting started here).

Admins can manage sharing setting at the organization-level, set different authorization levels, and define collaboration parameters with guests on documents, teams, and sites.

Admins can set rules that control how information is accessed and shared, as well as automate tasks like data governance and document management. And –they can incorporate audit policies and compliance requirements into your SharePoint settings. That way, team members can work faster – without constantly worrying about security issues or inadvertently introducing your org to cybersecurity risks.

SharePoint Enables Secure & Seamless Access

One recent Diginomica article discusses the need for organizations to create “curated clouds,” where individual cloud solutions are aligned with end-user, department, and org-wide goals. Essentially, orgs should focus on building cloud environments for each stakeholder group designed around localized requirements, needs, and functions – with predefined service levels and expectations re: data use, access, etc.

Per this recent Microsoft security guide, striking the right balance between security and employee productivity is key when it comes to maintaining strong security protections in a complex digital environment.

SharePoint allows business leaders to do just that. Admins can easily provide all users with seamless access to the apps and services they need in a customizable environment – without the risks associated with excessive permissions.

For example, Blue Diamond Growers (BDG) moved from SharePoint 2010 to SharePoint Online as part of a broader cloud migration effort. BDG’s Microsoft partner quickly rebranded all of BDG’s sites using SharePoints themes and custom web design app and trained employees to use the Teams integration – which enabled the almond supplier to fast-track adoption and boost collaboration.

While the initial goal of this project was to improve productivity and collaboration, BDG was able to strengthen data security, automate critical business processes, and better protect against threats thanks to features like Microsoft Defender and Single Sign-On.

Monitor Suspicious Activity

Today’s business landscape is defined by sprawling data sets, distributed workforces, and thousands of apps, devices, and services.

Securing the entire digital ecosystem has never been more challenging — nor so critical for protecting against ransomware attacks and other risks that could easily take down your business.

According to a recent Splunk report, security teams must have a global view of all assets, teams, and data within the business. See, without end-to-end visibility, security pros spend a good chunk of their time reacting to incidents after the fact. Which means financial losses, downtime, and reputational damage are inevitabilities.

SharePoint’s baked-in reporting tools like audit logs and usage reports play a key role in preventing and detecting ransomware attacks – but you’ll likely need to invest in solutions like Power BI, Microsoft Sentinel, Azure DDoS Protection, or Defender for Cloud to empower IT teams to take action against threats in real-time.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, SharePoint works best when combined with other Microsoft solutions. For instance, the Power Platform provides granular insights and custom automations that can help orgs better detect and act on incoming threats. Azure makes it easier to work with data and test for vulnerabilities. Entra tackles all things IAM.

The list goes on, but the point is, SharePoint is one of many layers that prevent threat actors from breaking into your system.

Velosio can help your company hit critical milestones and fast-track results — while at the same time, ensuring your business is fully-protected against ransomware and other threats.

Contact us today to learn more about our experience, services, and how we can keep you safe from ransomware attacks.