Manage Security Defaults in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Microsoft has implemented security policies in order to reduce the compromised accounts and ensure customers are secured by default. In 2013, they rolled out the Security Defaults policy for newly created Microsoft 365 tenants on all license levels. 

However, this didn’t work for some admins for various reasons. The main one being the use of Basic authentication. We have talked about how it is crucial for customers to implement multi-Factor authentication; this is one of the reasons why. 

In 2022 the new security defaults started rolling out for existing Microsoft 365 tenants who have not already applied MFA; and have yet to enable security defaults, Conditional Access policies, or per-user MFA settings. 

The New Configure Multi-Factor Authentication feature in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center 

In order to make it as easy as possible for admins to secure their tenant and manage MFA, Microsoft came up with this way of getting to this feature. Prior to this, and with the Security Defaults that rolled out in 2019-2020, admins had to go to the Azure Portal to manage them. However, most admins didn’t know the way to find it, which translated into a lot of support calls. 

While this method of managing security is effective, admins don’t use the Azure Portal with regularity or at all, sometimes. In late 2022 Microsoft announced the availability of this capability in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. 

With this update, admins can change MFA, Conditional Access policies, and security defaults whether within the M365 Admin Center or the Azure Portal. This update is available to any Global Admin, and only shows the options available to that license.  

You can see a step-by-step guide for this feature, here. 

For more information about this feature or to receive help with your licenses, please contact one of our Microsoft licensing experts.