Checklist
The Microsoft 365 Security Baseline Checklist
A checklist of the identity, email, device, data and monitoring settings that give a Microsoft 365 tenant a defensible security baseline, ordered by impact so you can start with the changes that matter most.
Checklist · about 14 pages · free
What’s inside
- Identity and conditional access settings to configure first
- Email protection and anti-phishing configuration
- Device compliance and application controls
- Data protection, labels and retention
- Monitoring, auditing and review rhythms
Why a baseline matters
Microsoft 365 is flexible, and its defaults favor ease of onboarding over protection. Many tenants are therefore running with settings that were fine on day one and risky three years later: legacy authentication still allowed, broad external sharing, administrators without strong sign-in protection and no one reviewing audit logs.
A baseline is a minimum set of configurations that you apply consistently and review regularly. It does not replace a full security program, but it closes the most common routes into a tenant and gives you a foundation to build on.
How to apply it safely
Security changes can lock people out or break workflows. Apply changes in report-only or pilot mode first, communicate with users, and keep emergency access in place.
- Pilot with IT and a small business group before tenant-wide rollout
- Use report-only mode for conditional access policies to see impact first
- Maintain two emergency access accounts excluded from policies and monitored
More guides
Keep building your playbook
- ChecklistThe Ransomware Readiness ChecklistA control-by-control checklist for preparing to withstand, detect and recover from a ransomware attack, organized around the decisions that matter in the first hours and the weeks before.Learn more
- GuideThe Cyber Insurance Questionnaire GuideA plain-language guide to the questions cyber insurers ask, why they ask them, and how to answer accurately and with evidence, so applications and renewals go smoothly and claims are not put at risk.Learn more
- WhitepaperThe SOC 2 Readiness RoadmapA whitepaper that takes you from the first customer request for a SOC 2 report through scoping, control design, evidence and audit, with a realistic timeline and the pitfalls that delay first-time audits.Learn more
Let’s build what’s next
Ready to Secure, Modernize, and Scale Your IT?
Talk to our experts and discover how vinemobile can help you achieve your business goals.