One of the most common exploits businesses can face is a data breach, which was associated with an average cost of $2.24 million in 2022, according to Getastra analysts.
For organizations with critical infrastructure, those costs were even higher, reaching $4.82 million. At the same time, Getastra claims that 79% of these enterprises have not implemented the zero-trust architecture.
The zero-trust architecture is the foundation of the D365 security configuration, which, if done correctly, can significantly increase the security of your data.
This article shows you how to do it.
Use Zero-Trust Principles for Role-Based Security Model
The Microsoft Dynamics 365 security model is based on user roles and permissions that define the scope of interactions with data available to users of the suite. To use this model as efficiently as possible, it is strongly recommended to apply the zero-trust approach and always grant new users only a minimum of access to data and system functions.
It is strongly recommended to use the standard security roles offered by Microsoft, which have already been optimized by Microsoft specialists to replicate many possible business scenarios. Only if your business has very specific requirements that cannot be met by any of the default options should you consider customizing or creating your own security roles. Furthermore, if you customize other areas of Microsoft Dynamics 365 that may have security roles associated with them, make sure that the model is not affected by the modifications you make to the system. Isolated, segmented customization solutions can help you prevent unintended impacts on your system.
At the same time, it is highly recommended that you do not give maximum access to the users of the system. This is a common mistake made by many companies which want to ensure that their employees can complete business tasks in the shortest possible time. Even though it may be challenging to set the right D365 security configuration under time pressure, you should still do your best to avoid excessive monitoring that would make your data unnecessarily vulnerable.
Audit and Monitor
A sensible approach to D365 security configuration is to view it as an ongoing process. With the development of your company and employee turnover, security role requirements will change too. Sometimes you may need to give some of your employees more access to records and functions, and in other situations, you may need to restrict access.
To find the best and most effective solution, you need to regularly review, patch and update your security configuration. It is also a good idea to perform regular vulnerability scans and penetration tests to estimate the risk of security breaches.
Lower Licensing Costs with D365 Security Configuration
Remember that proper configuration of security roles and permissions is an effective way to optimize your licensing costs. The price you have to pay for using Microsoft Dynamics 365 depends on the exact number of users and the extent of their access to the system’s features. For this reason, overprovisioning your users with permissions not only creates a security vulnerability but also leads to unnecessarily high costs.
This is another reason to constantly monitor the effectiveness of your current D365 security configuration and change it when it is no longer relevant to your business.
Automate Security Configuration
D355 security configuration can be overwhelming, especially for companies just getting started with this ERP and CRM software. If you are not sure how to properly manage security configuration for your software, you can use a dedicated tool, for instance, Security Setup for Dynamics 365 from Executive Automats. This solution will help you to:
- effectively transform real-world business processes into security roles for your software;
- use the automatic assignment of roles and permissions and change them manually if you want to optimize them further;
- save time on manual browsing and research while working with a user-friendly interface that helps you understand the context to select the necessary permissions;
- reduce human error with automation
- monitor and assess existing security configuration with robust analytics and reporting capabilities to find vulnerabilities and areas for improvement;
- enhance the quality of your ERP and CRM software through integration with Executive Automats’ dedicated automated testing solution;
- save money on unnecessary licensing costs generated by poor security configuration and potential losses due to data breaches;
- complete your security configuration project in as little as two weeks, instead of a year it typically takes organizations.
Train Users and Increase Awareness
Keep in mind that even proper security settings will not protect your data from breaches that may be caused by users who actually need access to records. Even if these individuals have no malicious intent to misuse that data themselves, they may become victims of a hack or a social engineering attack.
To prevent such incidents, it is highly recommended to educate employees about password and mobile device security and mobile devices and raise their awareness about social media dangers, phishing scams, and social engineering techniques.
In addition, training should be repeated regularly, as employees tend to revert to their previous habits.
The Bottom Line - Deploying Security Roles to Protect Your Data
Microsoft Dynamics 365 and especially the cloud version of this software have state-of-the-art cybersecurity protection and backup features. However, even this functionality is ineffective if the data is exposed to users who do not need access to it to complete their tasks.
Take the D365 security configuration seriously and choose the settings for your business carefully. In this way, you will not only protect your data but also effectively reduce the costs incurred by license fees for your company.