Cyber threats are evolving at an alarming rate, and businesses of all sizes are in the crosshairs. Measuring your organisation’s security readiness isn’t just a useful metric – it’s an imperative. But how can you do that? This is where Microsoft Secure Score comes in—a powerful benchmark that evaluates your security posture within Microsoft 365.
Setting high security standards is something we take very seriously. To help our clients measure and improve their security readiness, we’ve launched The Drive to 75, a dedicated initiative to help businesses achieve a 75% Secure Score or higher—ensuring better protection, compliance, and peace of mind.
What is Microsoft Secure Score?
Microsoft Secure Score is a built-in security assessment tool within Microsoft 365 that analyses your organisation’s security configuration and provides a percentage score based on implemented security controls. The higher your Secure Score, the stronger your security posture.
Improving your Secure Score is not just about boosting numbers—it directly impacts your organisation’s ability to prevent cyber threats, comply with industry standards (NIS2, ISO 27001, GDPR), and build customer trust.
Why a High Secure Score Matters
A high Secure Score means your organisation has adopted robust cybersecurity best practices, reducing the risk of breaches and ensuring better compliance. Here’s why improving your Secure Score should be a top priority:
- Stronger Access Controls – Enforcing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and Conditional Access policies ensures that only authorised users access your data, reducing the risk of credential-based attacks.
- Improved Data Protection – Data Loss Prevention (DLP) and sensitivity labels safeguard confidential business information and help meet GDPR compliance.
- Device & Endpoint Security – Microsoft Intune ensures all company devices are secured, encrypted, and regularly updated to minimise security risks.
- Threat Prevention – Microsoft Defender for Office 365 protects against phishing, malware, and ransomware attacks, reducing the likelihood of cyber incidents.
- Regulatory Compliance – Many compliance frameworks, including ISO 27001 and NIS2, require proactive security controls—many of which are part of the Secure Score recommendations.
Why 75% is the Optimal Secure Score
It’s natural to assume that aiming for a 100% Secure Score is the best approach. However, in real-world business environments, this isn’t generally practical—or necessary. Here’s why 75% is the optimal score:
- Practical Security Without Overhead – A Secure Score of 75% ensures your business implements the most critical security measures without adding unnecessary complexity that may slow down operations or frustrate employees.
- Risk Reduction Without Overkill – Achieving 100% often means enforcing security settings that aren’t always relevant to your organisation. By focusing on the most impactful security improvements, you strike the perfect balance between security and usability.
- Compliance Alignment – Many industry regulations and standards align with a Secure Score of 75% or higher, meaning you’re meeting security requirements without unnecessary complexity.
- Diminishing Returns Beyond 75% – After reaching 75%, each additional security measure yields less impact for significantly more effort and cost, making the investment harder to justify.
In short, 75% is the sweet spot—it maximises security and compliance without unnecessary trade-offs in productivity or operational efficiency.
Upgrade to Microsoft 365 Business Premium for a Higher Secure Score
One of the most effective ways to improve your Secure Score is by upgrading to Microsoft 365 Business Premium. While Microsoft 365 Business Standard offers essential productivity features, it lacks many critical security capabilities.
With Business Premium, you unlock powerful security enhancements that make reaching a Secure Score of 75% or higher significantly easier:
- Advanced Identity & Access Management – Enforce Conditional Access policies, risk-based MFA, and Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) with Microsoft Entra ID Premium P1.
- Comprehensive Device Security – Microsoft Intune enables mobile device and PC management, ensuring compliance and remote security controls.
- Enterprise-Grade Threat Protection – Microsoft Defender for Business provides endpoint detection and response (EDR), ransomware protection, and advanced phishing security.
- Data Loss Prevention (DLP) & Encryption – Microsoft Purview Information Protection prevents unauthorised sharing of sensitive data and ensures encryption at rest and in transit.
- Compliance & Auditing Features – Business Premium includes audit logs, eDiscovery, and information governance policies for regulatory compliance.
How IT.ie Can Help You Drive to 75
At IT.ie, we specialise in helping businesses optimise their Secure Score and achieve a robust cybersecurity posture. With our Drive to 75 initiative, we provide:
- Secure Score Assessment – Identifying security gaps & quick improvement actions.
- Implementation of Secure Score Recommendations – Enhancing your security controls with minimal disruption.
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium Upgrades – Seamless migration & policy implementation.
- Security Policy Configuration – MFA, Conditional Access, Defender policies & DLP.
- Compliance Support – Ongoing audits and Microsoft 365 security reviews
Start Your Drive to 75 Today!
Don’t leave your security to chance. Your Secure Score is a direct reflection of your organisation’s cyber readiness. Through IT.ie’s Drive to 75, we’ll help you achieve a higher Secure Score while strengthening your compliance and risk management.
Contact IT.ie today to schedule a Secure Score Assessment and take the first step towards better cybersecurity.
