What you need to know
- Microsoft was named a leader in 2021 enterprise email security in The Forrester Wave.
- Security company Egress appears to disagree, as explained in a recent report about data loss related to outbound emails.
- The report from Egress calls outbound emails "Microsoft 365's security blind spot."
Microsoft was named as a leader in enterprise email security in The Forrester Wave, a guide designed to help inform people about purchasing options in the technology marketplace. Microsoft received high scores in the strategy category, as explained in a Microsoft security post. Despite earning high marks, security company Egress appear to have different thoughts. A recent report by Egress highlights a "blindspot" in Microsoft 365: Outbound emails.
In The Forrest Wave report, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 received the highest score possible in regards to incident response, threat intelligence, and endpoint detection and response solutions. It also received the highest marks possible in product strategy, customer success, and performance and operations.
"Together, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and Microsoft 365 Defender help customers reduce gaps in coverage by trading disparate point solutions for comprehensive coverage," reads Microsoft's security blog post.
In contrast, Egress reports that "85% of organizations using Microsoft 365 have had an email data breach in the last 12 months." Egress also states that organizations with Microsoft 365 experience more incidents than those without it.
The report adds that "Organisations using Microsoft 365 have seen a 67% increase in data leaks via email since March 2020 – compared to just 32% of the businesses who don't use it."
These conflicting reports need to be placed in context. Microsoft's reputation has taken a hit when it comes to security due to the recent attack on Microsoft Exchange servers. Despite these recent issues, Microsoft is active on the security front and wants to highlight that. On the other side, Egress emphasizes security flaws related to Microsoft software and recommends purchasing its Intelligent Email Security Software.
There's room for both of these reports to be accurate, as the companies each address security from different angles.
