Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is a crucial component to implement in your IT stack. The good news is that it is easy to implement and helps reduce risks with brute force, phishing, and data leakage attacks.
Within Microsoft 365 there are 3 main ways to enable MFA and secure your users:
1. Conditional Access:
This method requires a licensing for Azure AD P1. Luckily, Microsoft 365 Business Premium automatically comes with this license. Conditional Access gives you the ability to apply MFA to specific groups within your organization, limit MFA to certain locations or IP Address, and for specific devices. This method also uses modern authentication. Conditional Access is our preferred method for MFA due to the flexibility it gives you with implementation.
2. Security Defaults:
This method is great for enabling MFA across all users within your tenant with minimal knowledge and effort. Simply flip the switch in your Azure Active Directory Portal and you are all set. The downside is that you cannot apply MFA to specific groups.
3. Exchange Portal MFA:
This method is probably the most well-known and has been used by MSPs and companies for many years. The downside is that you have to manually enable MFA for all users and for each new user you add to your tenant. This manual process takes time and could introduce unnecessary risks within your tenant. For this reason, we recommend staying away from this legacy method and look at Conditional Access.
One final note is to make sure that your organization only has one of these methods enabled at a time. Having more than one active can cause issues with user logins and doesn\’t add additional protection.
If you are looking for assistance with implementing MFA for security and compliance, make sure to reach out to us here at Netlogic Computer and our expert IT Support team would be happy to help!