In the eyes of attackers, a large number of users of a service always translates into the vision of a large profit. This is no different for cloud-based collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams, which skyrocketed in popularity during the pandemic. However, the integrated security of these services cannot completely eliminate potential security problems. That’s why ESET has come up with ESET Cloud Office Security, a solution developed specifically to protect cloud applications. The solution, which includes an effective cloud sandbox, will protect businesses from malware, phishing, as well as advanced threats originating from these platforms. Every file uploaded to OneDrive storage, shared via SharePoint or transferred via Teams is scanned with a powerful detection system that uses the same technology as ESET’s endpoint products.
Securing a hybrid work environment requires dynamic defences
Many people now work from home, and hybrid jobs are gaining popularity. As a result, cloud-based tools to collaborate and stay productive have begun to emerge in companies around the world. Although the introduction of the hybrid working model has been long envisaged, its application has revealed the complexity of securing the working environment from a practical perspective. Protocols, business processes and IT tools now have a much greater impact on the quality security of both home and corporate networks, not to mention mitigating the increased risks affecting devices that serve both personal and business use.
Corporate-level security for small and medium-sized businesses
As the demands for security continue to grow, ESET has enhanced ESET Cloud Office Security with ESET LiveGuard Advanced, a powerful corporate tool that proactively protects devices from unknown, zero-day threats. The threat landscape is not static; new types are added every day. At the same time, employees cannot be prevented from productive work by a computer slowed down by the computationally intensive tasks of security solutions.
The good news is that once ESET LiveGuard Advanced is set up, administrators and users don’t have to do anything. The tool itself decides if a suspicious or unknown sample is malicious by sending it to a cloud-based sandbox for analysis.
This is where the importance of this tool becomes apparent, as the computing power needed to detect new or unknown threats from employee computers is transferred to the cloud. In the cloud sandbox, multiple machine learning models and efficient detection techniques are used to analyze suspicious files to determine the state of the sample.
Given the ever-present threats such as phishing and malicious email attachments, companies should keep an eye on news regarding cyberattacks targeting corporate accounts. This way, employees will know early on what to avoid. However, it is more effective not to rely on employee security awareness alone, but rather to deploy a cloud-based solution like ESET LiveGuard Advanced, which provides a robust layer of protection even against previously unknown types of threats.
Figure 1. ECOS control panel view for ESET LiveGuard Advanced
With ESET LiveGuard Advanced, ESET Cloud Office Security (ECOS) provides user-friendly management and flexibility backed by enterprise-grade security.
A new type of activity requires a new type of security
In the run-up to the pandemic, when companies were looking for additional security solutions, ESET introduced ESET Cloud Office Security (ECOS). This security-enhancing solution for Microsoft 365 applications, including OneDrive and Exchange Online, brought the benefit of ease of deployment and management to the small, medium and large business segments. Within weeks of launch, our MSP partners began offering ECOS in managed environments as well, simplifying both security provisioning and reporting for cloud customers.
ECOS has proven itself in practice as a product that protects the very solutions that companies use to manage their operational costs, increase productivity and ensure business continuity. While the use of these tools has become commonplace thanks to hybrid working, extra care needs to be taken to secure them. ECOS now extends protection to Microsoft Teams and SharePoint Online. This is great news for small and medium-sized businesses that use the cloud, as it will strengthen business continuity protection through the same tools that enable both collaboration and working from different locations.
What does ESET Cloud Office Security with ESET LiveGuard Advanced bring to small and medium-sized businesses?
Although the responsibility for properly configuring and securing applications such as Teams, SharePoint Online, and Outlook rests with the service providers and their clients, these tools affect all users. When security incidents occur on large platforms, now very popular even for small and medium-sized businesses, expect to see a large upsurge in ransomware and other malicious campaigns that seek to exploit large periods of vulnerability and gain access to unprotected networks.
If you use powerful tools such as Teams, SharePoint and Exchange Online, you are also responsible for protecting your digital environment. While not all attacks and security breaches that companies face are the result of large-scale incidents, mitigating their impact mirrors the practices used against common threats and relies on determining what can be unchecked within the company’s own environment. Given the near-universal deployment of tools to maintain productivity, a solution like ECOS is key for immediate additional protection of the most popular tools.
Spam and malware
For IT administrators tasked with managing 25 or more units, ECOS is an effective multitenant and scalable service that protects all major Microsoft 365 cloud services from malware, phishing and spam.
ECOS checks all inboxes in Microsoft 365. Our award-winning anti-spam technology acts as the first layer that filters spam messages with near 100% accuracy. The second layer is our malware scanning, which detects malicious or suspicious attachments. The third layer, Anti-Phishing, serves to protect against phishing.
Every file uploaded to OneDrive, shared via SharePoint or transferred via Teams is scanned with our powerful anti-malware kernel, which uses the same technology as ESET’s endpoint products. If the kernel detects a malicious file, it is moved to quarantine where only administrators can access it, effectively protecting the user from the threat.
In addition, the easy-to-use cloud-based ECOS console provides administrators with visibility into quarantined items and immediately alerts them when a detection occurs.
Figure 2. and 3. ECOS control panel view for detections and quarantined items
Basic security from Windows is not enough
Many companies that have chosen to use productivity tools are convinced that the integrated protection provided by Microsoft is sufficient to maintain business continuity and, more broadly, to secure corporate systems.
However, the success of these platforms also makes them a target for a variety of attacks – for example, we have encountered malicious macros in Word documents sent via Outlook emails, or cases of abuse of Microsoft Exchange servers. Neither the integrated security nor the native protection developed by Microsoft can completely eliminate security problems, which is to be expected with such a large infrastructure and a large number of users.
It is therefore really justified to apply additional security measures when using these key products from Microsoft. ECOS is cost-effective, quick to deploy, and scalable for all sizes of businesses and institutions.
ECOS as a solution for a hybrid working model
Security culture, IT administrator skills and system setup are critical to address the security requirements brought on by the hybrid model of working, and the large increase in platforms for collaboration and maintaining productivity, as well as the use of RDP. Better security is a priority for this reason. The addition of ESET LiveGuard Advanced provides instant protection through additional cloud technology that protects not only users’ computers on-site, but also those of employees connecting from home or other remote locations. Thanks to ESET LiveGuard Advanced’s analysis of unknown samples, not only the computer on which the sample is found is protected, all endpoint devices within the company actively receive the same detection and protection.
If a company wants to improve its security, but the IT department has its hands full, simple security automation is a key requirement. ECOS and ESET LiveGuard Advanced offer themselves as the right solution.
If you want to learn more, you can try our interactive DEMO ECOS solution.
