Microsoft 365 Security Benchmarking
Clearer insight into Microsoft 365 security
Microsoft 365 has become the operational backbone for many organisations. However, the flexibility and complexity of the platform mean that security posture is highly dependent on configuration. Small gaps in identity protection, access control, device management or collaboration settings can create significant exposure if left unaddressed.
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What is Microsoft 365 Security Benchmarking?
Microsoft 365 security benchmarking is an independent assessment that measures how securely your Microsoft 365 environment is configured against recognised industry security standards and best practice guidance.
The assessment reviews key areas including identity protection, authentication, access control, collaboration settings, device management and governance controls to provide a clear picture of your current cloud security posture. Particular attention is given to configuration weaknesses commonly exploited in Microsoft 365 attacks, such as identity protection gaps, excessive permissions, insecure external sharing and weak authentication policies.
The outcome is a prioritised set of findings and practical recommendations showing where your organisation is most exposed, what should be addressed first and how to strengthen security in a structured, achievable way.
Toro’s Microsoft 365 security benchmarking service provides a practical, independent review of your Microsoft 365 environment, showing exactly where you are exposed, what matters most and how to fix it.
Scope of assessment
Toro’s Microsoft 365 security benchmarking reviews configuration across the core services that underpin identity, collaboration and device management. We assess your environment across Entra ID (Azure AD), Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams and Intune, benchmarking more than 95 critical security controls against Microsoft Security, Center for Internet Security (CIS) and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) best practice.
Assessment domains include identity and authentication protection, privileged access management, application permissions, collaboration security, device compliance and audit logging. This structured approach ensures your organisation receives a comprehensive, standards-aligned view of how securely your Microsoft 365 environment is configured and where improvements will have the greatest impact.
Why Microsoft 365 security benchmarking matters
Misconfiguration remains one of the most common causes of cloud security incidents. Without regular benchmarking, organisations often assume default settings provide sufficient protection when, in practice, additional controls are required to address modern threat activity.
Identify real-world exposure
Microsoft 365 security benchmarking highlights gaps in identity protection, authentication policies, external sharing controls, mailbox security and device governance that attackers frequently exploit.
Align to recognised security standards
Benchmarking your environment against CIS, NCSC and Microsoft security recommendations ensures your controls align with recognised best practice frameworks already used for compliance and assurance.
Prioritise remediation effectively
Not every configuration issue carries the same level of risk. Security benchmarking prioritises findings by impact, likelihood and remediation effort so that resources can be directed toward the controls that matter most.
Strengthen identity and collaboration security
With identity-based attacks continuing to rise, benchmarking helps ensure that identity protection, conditional access, multi-factor authentication and access governance controls are correctly implemented and operating as intended.
Managed Security & Consultancy
People focussed
At Toro, people are at the core of everything we do – our team, our clients, and the partners we collaborate with.
We prioritise building trusted relationships, delivering consistently high standards, and providing tailored support that reflects the unique needs of every client.
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What’s included in Toro’s Microsoft 365 security benchmarking service
Security benchmark report
Your current configuration mapped to industry standard best practice.
Actionable remediation plan
A comprehensive framework covering identity, network, data, and asset protection, alongside threat detection, governance, incident response, DevOps, AI, and backup strategies to ensure a robust, compliant cloud environment
Risk-prioritised findings
A concise, leadership-level view of risk themes and next actions.
Executive summary
Clear visibility of what should be addressed first, why it matters and how improvements will reduce exposure.
Managed Security & Consultancy
Key benefits of Microsoft 365 security benchmarking
- Independent validation of your Microsoft 365 security posture
- Clear identification of misconfigurations and identity security risks
- Alignment with Microsoft, CIS and NCSC security standards
- Actionable, implementation-ready recommendations
- Improved confidence in identity, collaboration and device security controls
Why Toro?
Hands-on Microsoft 365 security expertise
Toro works daily across Microsoft 365 environments, supporting organisations with identity protection, access governance, collaboration security and cloud configuration risk reduction. This practical experience means our benchmarking reflects how Microsoft 365 is used and attacked in real operational environments, not just theoretical best practice.
Practical, implementation-ready recommendations
We focus on delivering recommendations that can be implemented in real environments, prioritised by risk, business impact and level of effort. This ensures your teams receive a clear remediation roadmap rather than a technical checklist.
Aligned to recognised security standards
All findings are mapped to Microsoft Security, CIS and NCSC best practice guidance, helping organisations strengthen their security posture while supporting existing governance, compliance and assurance frameworks. Clear visibility of what should be addressed first, why it matters and how improvements will reduce exposure.
Microsoft 365 security benchmarking FAQs
Microsoft 365 security benchmarking is an independent assessment that evaluates how securely your Microsoft 365 environment is configured compared with recognised industry security standards.
Toro assesses configuration across Entra ID (Azure AD), Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams and Intune, focusing on critical identity, access and collaboration controls.
More than 95 key security controls are benchmarked against Microsoft, CIS and NCSC best practice recommendations.
Yes. Every finding includes practical, implementation-ready recommendations prioritised by risk, impact and effort.
No. The benchmarking process is designed to be low impact and conducted without disrupting normal business operations.
Yes. Benchmarking against recognised standards helps support regulatory, governance and internal assurance requirements.
Delivery timelines depend on the size and complexity of the environment.
You receive a detailed technical and executive report outlining your current posture, key risks and prioritised improvement actions. Toro can also provide follow-on support if required.
By identifying configuration gaps early and providing clear remediation priorities, Toro helps organisations strengthen identity protection, reduce attack surface exposure and build measurable improvement in their Microsoft 365 security resilience over time.
Managed Security & Consultancy
Gain a clear, evidence-based view of your Microsoft 365 security posture
Toro’s Microsoft 365 security benchmarking service provides a clear, independent view of how securely your cloud collaboration environment is configured today, where the most important risks sit and what steps will strengthen protection most effectively. By aligning technical findings with recognised security standards and operational priorities, we help organisations improve security posture with confidence and clarity.
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At Toro, people are at the core of everything we do – our team, our clients, and the partners we collaborate with.
We prioritise building trusted relationships, delivering consistently high standards, and providing tailored support that reflects the unique needs of every client.
