In the realm of digital security, Microsoft Secure Score stands as an important tool for organisations aiming to fortify their defences against the ever-evolving threat landscape. Found within the Microsoft Defender portal, this metric serves as a comprehensive gauge of an organisation's security posture, with a higher score denoting the implementation of more recommended actions. 

Microsoft Secure Score surpasses traditional security measures by offering a dynamic, centralised dashboard in the Microsoft Defender portal. Here, organisations are empowered to monitor and enhance the security of their Microsoft 365 identities, applications, and devices. This innovative tool is designed to facilitate organisations in several key areas: 

Reporting: It provides a clear snapshot of the current security posture of an organisation.  Secure Score is broken down into categories such as Apps, Data, Device, and Identity. 

Improvement: By offering discoverability, visibility, guidance, and control, it aids organisations in elevating their security measures. 

Benchmarking: Organisations can compare their scores with industry benchmarks and establish key performance indicators (KPIs). 

Secure Score's rich features, including robust visualisations of metrics and trends, integration with other Microsoft products, and score comparisons with similar organisations, offer a comprehensive overview of an organisation's security health. 

How It Operates 

Microsoft Secure Score awards points for actions such as: 

• Configuring recommended security features. 
• Completing security-related tasks. 

Actions are scored based on completion, with some offering full points only when entirely enacted across all devices or users. Others may provide partial points for partial completion. This system allows organisations to make informed decisions about which recommendations to implement, balancing security with usability. 

The recommendations cover a wide range of Microsoft products, displayed irrespective of the organisation's license type or subscription. This ensures that all users have the opportunity to understand and implement security best practices. 

Scoring of Recommended Actions 

Each recommended action carries up to a maximum of 10 points, scored as a percentage of the total configuration. For example, implementing multi-factor authentication across all users could yield the full 10 points, whereas partial implementation results in a proportionate score. 

The Secure Score is updated to reflect the latest data from the visualisations and recommended action pages. It also syncs daily to incorporate system data about the points achieved for each action, ensuring an up-to-date reflection of an organisation's security posture.   

Microsoft Secure Score is an essential tool for organisations seeking to enhance their security posture. Through its comprehensive insights, actionable recommendations, and user-friendly dashboard, Secure Score enables organisations to navigate the complexities of digital security, ensuring a safer operating environment in the digital age. 

Microsoft Secure Scores are an important part of your security monitoring, although it concentrates primarily on the Microsoft ecosystem.  Kick have recently introduced a similar scoring system which covers a wider range of technologies and is provided free for customers with a Support service. 

Learn more about how we can protect your business ➡️ www.kickict.co.uk/kicksecure.