Microsoft OneDrive for Business is widely popular among companies in Chicago, Tampa, and the wider United States. This is because the cloud storage platform ticks all the boxes for businesses. For a small monthly fee, businesses get anytime, anywhere access to files, at least 1 TB of storage per user, and offline syncing. Yet even with these benefits, there remains a significant portion of business owners who are reluctant to migrate to OneDrive because of security concerns. In this article, we discuss whether those concerns are valid and what measures OneDrive uses to keep data safe. 

Can OneDrive for Business be hacked?

Despite the benefits of cloud storage companies regularly updating their platforms with bug fixes and security updates, the unfortunate reality is any online service can be hacked, including OneDrive for Business. Whilst the likelihood for amateur attackers to breach into OneDrive servers are low due to Microsoft’s robust risk mitigations, cloud data breaches are still theoretically possible through a number of ways. Servers and networks that run OneDrive for Business could potentially be hacked utilizing newly discovered zero-day vulnerabilities, overlooked system configurations, or even simple human discrepancies on Microsoft’s part. 

Meanwhile, OneDrive users may inadvertently increase the risk of data breaches through bad habits. They could leak data by sharing sensitive documents to the wrong recipients or people outside the organization. Unauthorized users may have too much access to files and folders, which may lead to them abusing those privileges. Finally, the passwords used to secure OneDrive accounts could be generic and easy to guess, giving hackers unfettered access to your cloud storage.  

How does OneDrive secure your data?

The great thing about OneDrive for Business is that it takes data security very seriously. It employs several measures to keep your data safe and sound, including: 

Security monitoring and vulnerability assessments

Microsoft constantly monitors OneDrive for Business to ensure its security. Using a combination of next-generation firewalls and AI-augmented threat monitoring systems, Microsoft can detect a wide range of threats. For instance, Microsoft monitors OneDrive for suspicious activities, such as malicious programs, abnormally large file download requests, and unusual sign-in attempts from unknown devices or locations. Depending on the activity, Microsoft systems may automatically remediate the issue by blocking the suspicious traffic, removing malware, or locking users out of an account. Then they’ll alert you of the issue via email and recommend steps to minimize security risks in the future.  

Beyond threat monitoring, Microsoft regularly evaluates the systems that support OneDrive for Business services. The software company has dedicated security teams towards hunting for vulnerabilities that cybercriminals may exploit, such as server misconfigurations and inadequate authentication controls. When security teams identify these vulnerabilities, they quickly patch the problem, so OneDrive for Business is as secure as possible against the latest threats.

Related reading: Find out how you can elevate your business with cloud managed services

Data encryption

OneDrive for Business fully encrypts data in transit and at rest. When data is in transit, OneDrive for Business uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption. This prevents hackers from intercepting and reading data being transmitted between your systems and Microsoft data centers. As for at-rest encryption, Microsoft leverages BitLocker to protect its servers. It also uses per-file encryption in which every file update is encrypted with a unique key. These keys are stored in a separate location, preventing hackers from easily deciphering encrypted OneDrive files if they manage to infiltrate Microsoft servers. Each of these encryption methods uses 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) keys, which take ages to crack even using the strongest supercomputers. 

Access and sharing controls

OneDrive for Business provides various options for limiting who can access your files and folders. Typically, when you click on the Share button on any Microsoft 365 productivity app, you get a shareable link that can be given to anyone. However, within the OneDrive Admin Center, you can determine who can access these links. Shared link access falls into three categories: 

  1. Anyone with the link can access the file
  2. Links are only accessible by users within the organization
  3. Only specific people the end user permits can access the link 

What’s more, you can set permissions on how users can interact with a shared file or folder. You can make set files to be read-only by default or enable editing permissions. If you choose the latter, people can move, rename, share, delete, and copy anything on files and folders. Plus, you can set an expiration date or password-protect shareable links to further protect classified data from the public eye.  

Data loss prevention

Data loss prevention (DLP) enables you to control the flow of data outside of your organization to prevent data leaks. The core function of DLP is to detect confidential information in your OneDrive for Business environment using a combination of data classification and machine learning techniques. DLP systems look for text formatting, metadata, and keywords found in sensitive documents such as contact sheets and financial statements. Thanks to these capabilities, system administrators can set granular DLP policies based on the type of information being shared and the users attempting to share them. For instance, you can set a rule that blocks employees from sharing US bank account details and Social Security numbers to external users. OneDrive for Business also comes with dozens of DLP policy templates that comply with industry-specific regulations like HIPAA and PCI DSS. If users engage in unauthorized sharing of information, OneDrive for Business can alert you of the issue so you can quickly respond. This allows you to hold employees accountable and discourage unauthorized disclosures. 

Backup and recovery

To ensure your data stays intact, OneDrive for Business comes with powerful data backup features. Files and folders on your PC can be automatically backed up and synced to the cloud platform, making your data accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. If your systems are attacked by ransomware, OneDrive can restore your files to a point in time before they were compromised. This data recovery feature is also particularly useful in case of accidental deletion, file corruption, and other data loss incidents. Additionally, OneDrive data is backed up in multiple data centers across different regions. By doing this, Microsoft keeps your data safe in case one server facility is compromised or goes offline due to natural disasters.  

How can you make sure OneDrive is secure?

Despite all of OneDrive’s built-in protections, your company must also adopt security best practices. This involves setting long and complex passwords as well as enabling multifactor authentication to protect OneDrive accounts. Employees must undergo regular security training so they can identify and avoid phishing scams that attempt to steal login credentials. There should also be clear policies on data sharing and regular software update schedules to keep the latest threats at bay. 

OneDrive for Business is one of the safest cloud storage solutions when paired with good security habits. If you want to migrate your data to and configure OneDrive for Business, Dynamic Solutions Group can help. As a certified Microsoft partner, we can ensure your data is fully secure in the cloud. Call us today to get started.