Microsoft 365 SMTP AUTH connections using Basic authentication remain available through December 2026, subject to existing tenant policies. At the end of December, Microsoft will disable Basic authentication by default for existing tenants, although administrators can re-enable it temporarily. Identify password-based senders now and plan their replacement. The Microsoft SMTP...
Microsoft Entra Conditional Access blocks legitimate users when their sign-in fails a policy requirement, even if their password and multifactor authentication (MFA) are correct. Common causes include missing device-compliance information, unsupported authentication methods, unexpected network locations and overlapping policies. A valid account does not automatically satisfy every access condition. The...
Azure Storage can expose business files when a storage account allows anonymous access, credentials are leaked or network rules are too broad. Excessive permissions can also expose files held in Azure Storage. Azure Storage security depends on controlling these routes separately; encryption at rest doesn’t prevent someone downloading files through...
In Microsoft Entra ID, formerly Azure AD, emergency-access accounts (also called break-glass accounts) reduce administrator lockout risk. Their authentication and recovery arrangements must remain independent of normal administrator access. Create at least 2 cloud-only accounts with permanent Global Administrator permissions and phishing-resistant MFA. Conditional Access exclusions do not remove Microsoft’s...
Microsoft Entra ID, formerly Azure AD, rejects fresh token requests that use an expired credential. The app registration remains in place, but integrations using that credential can’t authenticate until a replacement is configured. Creating a new secret alone doesn’t restore service: the application, script or connector must receive its new...
Passkeys provide stronger protection against credential phishing than authenticator app codes because they are tied to the genuine service. For business logins, use passkeys where supported and password-based multi-factor authentication where they are not. Choosing between passkeys and authenticator apps also depends on device ownership, recovery arrangements and administrative control....
A 2-person payment change check reduces invoice fraud risk by separating supplier verification from approval of new bank details. One person confirms the request through a previously trusted contact; another reviews the evidence before authorising the change. Two approvals of the same email are not independent verification. The control works...
SPF, DKIM and DMARC help prevent attackers sending email that falsely claims to come from your business. SPF identifies authorised sending infrastructure, DKIM verifies a cryptographic signature, and DMARC connects those checks to the visible sender address and requests how failed messages should be handled. Publishing the records alone is...
Attackers hide Microsoft 365 forwarding rules with misleading names, by targeting selected messages, or by creating rules that don’t appear in the standard rules list. After compromising an account, they can copy correspondence externally while moving or deleting messages that might expose the activity. A password reset doesn’t remove these...
Staff can access Microsoft 365 safely on personal phones when access is limited to protected apps, strong authentication and enforceable device standards. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) alone doesn’t control where attachments are saved, whether a phone receives updates or what happens to work data after someone leaves. A practical BYOD policy...
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