News

Microsoft Aims To Remake Secure Score into 'Killer' App for Orgs

• By Kurt Mackie
• February 10, 2020

An upcoming preview release of Microsoft Secure Score promises to bring changes to the security assessment product that will make it more meaningful for organizations.

In a Monday announcement, Microsoft said one of those changes will make it possible to compare an organization's security status with the status of similar organizations using a new pop-up "card."

"In the previous experience the comparison was hardcoded and based on the organization's size and the industry," explained Chris Hallum, a senior product manager at Microsoft, in the announcement. "This has been updated to include organizations licensed with similar products so you're no longer being compared to organizations who have access to more or less technologies."

This and other changes coming in a "new public preview" will make Secure Score a "killer productivity app for security administrators," Hallum said, although he didn't describe when this preview would arrive. Microsoft originally launched a so-called new public preview of Secure Score back in November at Ignite, Hallum explained, and now "the preview is well under way and includes many new refinements."

Top improvements to come in the new Secure Score preview were described by Hallum. It now shows the percentage of security improvements implemented by an organization. A details page has been expanded and now includes access to history data and written information. There's a new "Action History section" for checking the status of the improvements, along with an "Actions To Review Card," he explained.

Also new in the preview is a "Metrics and Trends Page" that consists of cards with information that can be used to discuss an organization's security posture with an organization's leadership. It's possible to show an organization's projected security score if certain planned actions get completed.

The current Microsoft Secure Score product reached the "general availability" commercial-release status almost two years ago, having evolved from an earlier Office 365 Secure Score product. Microsoft has since expanded its reach from just assessing the security of Office 365 products in an organization to assessing other solutions. "Coming soon" will be support for Azure Active Directory, Cloud App Security and Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, according to a Microsoft Secure Score preview document.

Microsoft seems to have shifted Microsoft Secure Score around with its various portals. It had been described last May as being located in its own Web portal, as accessed from a URL. Later, in July, it was said to have been moved from the Office 365 Security and Compliance portal to the Microsoft 365 Security Center portal, which is where it's currently found.

Microsoft also has a Secure Score solution in its Azure Security Center portal, which apparently is a just a capability for use with Azure services, rather than a product in itself.