[m365weekly] #178

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Issue #178

☁️Productivity & Modern Workplace

What is a Microsoft 365 Group? Microsoft 365 Groups serve as a vital security and collaboration hub, seamlessly integrating various applications like SharePoint, Outlook, Teams, and Planner. They streamline project management by linking membership across these apps, meaning you only need to manage access and permissions in one place.

10 Paste Special Tricks Excel Pros Use to Save Hours (+Cheat Sheet). From converting whole numbers to percentages, adjusting sales forecasts, and transposing tables to quickly applying consistent formatting across charts, these tricks make handling data more efficient. Plus, a handy cheat sheet is available to keep these tips at your fingertips, ensuring you’re always ready to streamline your Excel tasks.

[FEATURED STORY] QR code phishing attacks

How Microsoft Defender for Office 365 innovated to address QR code phishing attacks.

Why is it important?
The rise of QR code phishing attacks, increasing by 270% monthly, poses a significant threat to cybersecurity, particularly as these attacks often lead to credential theft and malware distribution. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 has responded with innovative defenses that leverage advanced machine learning and AI to detect and neutralize these threats in real time.

Key Insights:

  • Surge in Attacks: Over the past year, QR code phishing has surged, with attackers exploiting the codes to redirect users to malicious sites or download malware through seemingly legitimate communications.
  • Innovative Solutions: Microsoft has implemented several enhancements in Defender for Office 365:
    • URL Extraction Enhancements: Improved capabilities to extract and analyze URLs from QR codes, enhancing threat detection.
    • Advanced Image Processing: Techniques that disrupt attacks at the initial mail flow stage by logging URLs hidden in QR codes.
    • User Training Simulations: Specialized training for users to recognize QR code phishing attempts.
  • Impact on Security Landscape: The innovations have led to a significant reduction in successful QR code phishing attempts, dropping from 3 million daily to 200,000, demonstrating the effectiveness of these new defenses.

☁️Copilot & AI

Using Microsoft 365 Copilot in Marketing: Draft briefs. A short video for you to get a gist of what Copilot can do to help you be better at marketing.

AI in Microsoft Teams Meetings: My #1 Copilot Feature! Microsoft Teams’ Copilot is incredibly useful for quickly catching up on meetings by providing real-time summaries, listing participants, and highlighting action items. After meetings, it offers detailed recaps, sentiment analysis, and extracts insights like pros and cons of topics discussed. It also integrates with Microsoft Loop for collaborative note-taking, making it a valuable tool for maintaining productivity.

Microsoft 365 Copilot Just Got a MASSIVE Extensibility Boost! Microsoft has significantly revamped the extensibility of its Microsoft 365 Copilot, simplifying the framework and renaming custom Copilots and plugins to “agents.” This change aims to make it easier for both low-code and pro-code developers to build and integrate these agents, addressing previous complexities and improving user experiences.

☁️Sysadmin Stuff

Set Up a Catch-All Email Address in Microsoft 365. A Catch-All email address in Microsoft 365 captures emails sent to non-existent or misspelled addresses, ensuring important messages aren’t missed. Be aware of limitations like spam vulnerability and update delays to maintain effective communication.

VBScript’s end of life and what it means for you. VBScript, an old scripting language for Windows, is set to be deprecated, with its complete end of life on the horizon. Initially available as a feature on demand in Windows 11, it will be disabled by default in 2027 and eventually removed entirely.

4 Practical Tools for Success with Conditional Access. Conditional Access is a key security feature in Microsoft 365, but its complexity often poses challenges for organizations. To address these, the Conditional Access Blueprint offers a structured framework with tools for planning, implementing, and validating access policies.

☁️Security & Data Governance

Customer needs personal device access for Microsoft 365 | Secure Options. In today’s remote and hybrid work environments, securing BYOD access can be a pesky task. Consider solutions like AVD or Cloud PC for secure access, while making Intune enrollment optional to maintain security with flexible policies like session controls and Temporary Access Passes for validation.

Key takeaways from the Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2024. The Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2024 outlines the growing complexity and frequency of cybersecurity threats, including ransomware, phishing, and AI-driven attacks. It highlights the increasing role of nation-state actors in targeting critical infrastructure and using cyber tools for geopolitical influence. Microsoft processes 78 trillion security signals daily, emphasizing the importance of AI and international collaboration to combat election interference and enhance cybersecurity defenses.

Your Guide to Creating a Comprehensive Microsoft 365 Disaster Recovery Plan. Creating a disaster recovery plan for Microsoft 365 is essential to protect against threats like cyberattacks and human errors. While Microsoft 365 includes basic backup features, leveraging third-party solutions such as Veeam Backup or AvePoint Cloud can provide more robust data protection. Ensure your plan covers both data and configurations to quickly restore operations after disruptions.

☁️Noteworthy (long)reads

7 cybersecurity trends for small and medium businesses. Small and medium businesses (SMBs) face heightened cybersecurity threats but often lack the resources of larger enterprises, making them vulnerable. Cyberattacks can be costly and damaging, prompting SMBs to increase their cybersecurity spending and adopt practices like strong passwords and multifactor authentication. The rise of AI and hybrid work models further underscores the need for enhanced security controls and secure data access solutions.

DATES TO KEEP IN MIND

December 16, 2024 – Retiring of Delve application.

End of 2024 – Mail and Calendar Apps in Windows will be retired. The new Outlook will be installed on new Windows 11 devices.

October 2026 – Retirement of Microsoft Publisher app which has been a part of Office Suite for years.

☁️Classifieds

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☁️On a Less Serious Note

☁️ Last but not least …

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