Security Defaults to CA Forced Microsoft Changes
MICROSOFT 365 REQUIRED ADDITIONAL LAYERS OF SECURITY
Stronger security is required to protect your business and manage the risks associated with the internet, criminal enterprises, and cyber breaches.
Microsoft is in the process of removing older less secure methods of connecting to your Microsoft 365 Tenant replacing it with Multifactor Authentication (MFA) for all users.
Good news: this will help you avoid unwanted access and threats to your Microsoft 365 accounts.
Bad news: Microsoft will require an additional licensing fee (one per company) of $6 per month and users need to adopt the change in how they log in. This can be as simple as the user receiving a text message with a code that is required to login after they have entered their password.
Plan to minimize hassle and disruption
To ensure that your Microsoft 365 environment gets the benefits of these changes with as little disruption as possible First Call has put together a strategy to deploy Conditional Access (CA), which includes the required MFA plus additional features, to your environment.
IMPORTANT:
Licensing
If not already in place a Microsoft license will need to be purchased for a single administrative user of the tenant to put Conditional Access in place. The cost of this license is around $6 per month.
Frequently Asked QUESTIONS
Q: What are the fees involved?
A: Licensing: If you don’t already have the needed licensing then that will cost $6 per month (only 1 license required per tenant). Labor: The rollout and configuration of this service will be covered by your agreement with First Call unless First Call has discussed fees with you directly in advance due to the complexity of your environment or your agreement type.
Q: When are users going to need to provide MFA, and is it every time?
A: Generally speaking, MFA authentication will only be required when accessing the Microsoft tenant (think Outlook online, or, signing into SharePoint via a web browser) and only once per new device.
Q: Do I or my users need to install anything on my phone?
A: The short answer is no; MFA can be configured by providing a cell phone number to which a text message can be sent. There are other options that require an App to be installed, but Microsoft has not made a separate App mandatory.
Q: What if I or my users don’t have/don’t want to use our cell phones at all?
A: There are options. Please speak with your First Call representative if this is a concern for you.
Timeline
- First Call purchases the needed licensing 20%
- First Call configures Conditional Access but does not “turn it on” 40%
- First Call will reach out to you to get your users and environment prepped. 60%
- A “go-live date” is scheduled and fees are discussed only if they apply beyond the licensing. 80%
- Conditional Access is “turned on” and users start using MFA 100%
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