Security & threat protection
Security & threat protection â stop attacks early, and catch what gets through.
Most attacks on small businesses arenât sophisticated. They start with a convincing email, a reused password or a computer that missed an update. Good security for a small office isnât about buying the most expensive product; itâs about layers that work together: strong sign-in, protected email, protected computers, backups that attackers canât delete, and someone watching the alerts. We build those layers on Microsoftâs business security tools, tune them for your office, and respond when something looks wrong.
The result
Fewer incidents, faster containment and a clear picture of your security at any time.
Who it's for
This service is for owners and managers who know security matters but donât have the time or staff to keep up with it. Typical triggers: a cyber insurance application full of questions you canât answer, a client asking for your security policies, a near-miss with a fake invoice, or a ransomware story from a business down the road.
If youâre a medical or dental practice, an accounting firm, a law office or any business that holds other peopleâs sensitive information, security isnât optional â regulators, insurers and clients all expect reasonable protection. Our ransomware protection guide is a good primer.
- Practices protecting electronic patient information (ePHI)
- CPA and tax firms subject to the FTC Safeguards Rule
- Businesses applying for or renewing cyber insurance
- Offices that have had an account compromise or fake-invoice scam
- Anyone without a clear answer to âwhat would happen if we got ransomware tomorrow?â
What's included
Endpoint detection and response (EDR)
Every computer runs Microsoft Defender for Business, which blocks known malware and also watches behavior â a program encrypting hundreds of files, or a script reaching out to an unknown server â and stops it. Thatâs EDR: detection based on what software does, not just what itâs called.
Automatic isolation of compromised devices
If a computer appears compromised, it can be cut off from the network while still letting us investigate, so one infected PC doesnât become an infected office.
Email protection
Exchange Online Protection and Defender for Office 365 filter phishing, malware and impersonation attempts, check links when clicked and open attachments in a safe sandbox. We tune policies so warnings are useful, not noise.
Email authentication
SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up so criminals canât easily send email that looks like it came from your domain.
Identity protection
MFA for every account, legacy sign-in methods blocked, and Conditional Access rules that consider location, device health and risk. Admin accounts are separate from everyday accounts, following least privilege.
Alert monitoring
Security alerts from Defender, Entra ID and Microsoft 365 come to our team around the clock. We investigate, contain where needed and tell you what happened in plain English. This is monitoring with alerts to our team â not a staffed overnight security operations center (SOC).
Vulnerability and patch management
We track missing updates and known weaknesses across your computers and software, and close them on a schedule. See vulnerability scan.
Backups attackers canât delete
Ransomware gangs go after backups first. We design backups following the 3-2-1 rule with an immutable or offline copy, and test restores.
Security awareness for staff
Short, practical training and phishing exercises so staff recognize the warning signs. Try our Spot the Phish quiz with your team.
Incident response plan
A written, practical incident response plan: who to call, what to unplug, how to preserve evidence and when to involve your insurer, lawyer or regulators.
Security reporting
Regular reports in plain language: what was blocked, what needs attention, how your Microsoft Secure Score has changed and what we recommend next.
How it works
Security review
We check sign-in settings, email security, device protection, backups and admin accounts, and rank the gaps by risk â usually MFA, email and backups top the list.
Quick wins
In the first weeks we close the biggest gaps: MFA everywhere, legacy sign-in blocked, Defender deployed, email authentication fixed.
Layered rollout
We deploy Conditional Access, device compliance, attack surface reduction rules and backup changes in stages, testing each so the office keeps working.
Train your team
A short session on phishing and fake invoices, plus a simple way to report something suspicious.
Monitor and respond
Alerts flow to our team; we investigate and act, and tell you what happened.
Review and improve
Quarterly or periodic reviews of reports, new threats and changes in insurer or regulatory expectations.
For medical & dental practices
Healthcare is a favorite target for ransomware and data theft because patient records are valuable and downtime is painful. A small practice may feel too small to notice, but most attacks are automated and opportunistic: they find whoever has a weak password or an unpatched system.
The HIPAA Security Rule requires covered entities and business associates to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of ePHI, including protection from malicious software, security incident procedures, audit controls and contingency planning. Our security service maps directly onto those safeguards, and we keep evidence â reports, configurations, logs â that helps when you update your risk assessment. See how to do a HIPAA security risk assessment.
As of this writing, HHS has proposed significant updates to the Security Rule (published January 2025) that would make controls like MFA, encryption and network segmentation explicit requirements, but the rule has not been finalized and HHSâs regulatory agenda now points to 2027 at the earliest. The controls we deploy already align with that direction. Read the proposed HIPAA Security Rule changes for the details.
We also help you prepare for the worst day: a HIPAA breach response plan that covers containment, investigation, documentation and notification decisions. In the dental practice case study, encryption, managed devices and Conditional Access were core parts of the rebuild.
More on how we work with practices: IT for medical & dental practices.
Typical problems we solve
| The problem | What we do about it |
|---|---|
| A staff memberâs email was hacked and used to send fake invoices. | Contain the account, remove malicious inbox rules, enforce MFA and Conditional Access, and turn on alerts for risky sign-ins. |
| Your cyber insurance form asks about EDR, MFA and immutable backups. | Deploy the controls and give you clear answers you can stand behind. See the cyber insurance checklist. |
| Antivirus is a mix of free and expired products. | One managed EDR platform across every computer, with alerts to our team. |
| Everyone has admin rights on their computer. | Remove everyday admin rights; use separate, protected admin accounts. |
| Backups sit on a drive attached to the server â where ransomware can reach them. | An off-site, immutable or offline copy, tested regularly. |
| Criminals send emails that look like theyâre from your domain. | SPF, DKIM and DMARC moved to enforcement. |
| Nobody knows what to do if a screen says âyour files are encrypted.â | A written incident response plan and a number to call. |
Tools we use â and what they do
- Microsoft Defender for Business
- Endpoint protection with EDR, attack surface reduction and automated investigation, built for organizations up to 300 users.
- Defender for Office 365
- Safe Links and Safe Attachments checks, plus anti-phishing and impersonation protection for email.
- Exchange Online Protection
- Microsoftâs baseline spam and malware filtering for every Microsoft 365 mailbox.
- Microsoft Entra ID & Conditional Access
- Identity protection, MFA and access rules based on user, location, device and risk.
- Microsoft Intune
- Enforces security baselines, encryption and compliance on devices.
- Microsoft Purview
- Audit logs, retention and data loss prevention tools, depending on your plan.
- Microsoft Secure Score
- Microsoftâs measurement of your security configuration, which we use to track improvement over time.
Security & threat protection: frequently asked questions
Whatâs the difference between antivirus and EDR?
Traditional antivirus looks for known bad files. EDR also watches behavior â what programs actually do â so it can catch new attacks and lets us investigate and isolate a computer remotely. See EDR.
Do you provide a 24/7 security operations center?
No, and we wonât pretend to. We provide 24/7 monitoring with alerts going straight to our team, and we respond to them. If you need a fully staffed SOC or MDR service, weâll tell you and help you choose one.
Is Microsoft Defender good enough for a business?
Defender for Business is a full EDR product designed for organizations up to 300 users, not the free consumer antivirus. Configured and monitored properly, itâs a strong choice â and it integrates with the rest of Microsoft 365.
What security do cyber insurers require?
Requirements vary by carrier, but MFA (especially for email and remote access), EDR, tested backups with an offline or immutable copy, patching and staff training come up again and again. Try our cyber insurance readiness quiz.
We had a breach. Can you help?
Yes. Call us. Weâll help contain it, preserve evidence, rebuild securely and work with your insurerâs incident response team if one is assigned. See projects for secure rebuilds.
Will security make work harder for my staff?
Done well, barely. Most people approve a sign-in on their phone occasionally and notice nothing else. We roll out changes in stages and test them first.
How do we know itâs working?
You get regular plain-English reports: what was blocked, what alerts we handled, and how your security score is trending.
What does âzero trustâ mean for a small office?
Zero trust means no sign-in or device is trusted just because itâs inside the office network. Every request is checked: is this the right person, did they pass MFA, is their device managed and healthy? For a small office, that mostly means MFA everywhere, Conditional Access, managed devices and least-privilege access â all things we set up with Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
Do you do penetration tests?
We donât claim to be a penetration-testing firm. We run vulnerability scanning and configuration reviews, and can coordinate an independent penetration test when a client or insurer requires one.
Case study ¡ Dental practice
A dental practice that stays open when the internet doesn't
Internet outages used to close the front desk. Now the practice switches to cellular automatically, patient data lives in encrypted cloud storage, and every device is managed and protected.
Read the full story