Tag Archives: microsoft
lost gmail emails
I have just lost all emails since I switched to gmail about a month ago. This inbox sent even archive .Any help ?
I have just lost all emails since I switched to gmail about a month ago. This inbox sent even archive .Any help ? Read More
Preparing for CMMC 2.0: Build New or Fix Old?
As the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) awaits the finalization and rollout of proposed changes to the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, there are still plenty of ways to begin preparing for CMMC 2.0 now. Some aspects of the revised model are more streamlined; for instance, CMMC 2.0 will only have three levels of certification, ranging from basic cyber hygiene to advanced practices. However, other proposed changes reflect tighter standards for supply chain cybersecurity. Depending on the type and scope of the contracts they pursue, defense contractors – and even the external service providers in their security stack – will now need to achieve a certain level of CMMC compliance by 2025.
When preparing their IT environments for CMMC compliance, defense contractors have two choices: build a new environment or try to fix their current one. Both options have pros and cons, and the decision will depend on several factors, such as the current state of the environment, the budget, the timeline, and the desired level of CMMC certification.
Build New or Fix Old: A Car Analogy
To illustrate the difference between building new and fixing old, let’s use a car analogy. Imagine you have an old car that has been serving you well for many years, but it has some problems. It consumes a lot of gas, it breaks down frequently, it has outdated features, and it doesn’t meet the latest safety standards. You know it’s time to upgrade your car, but that leaves you with two options: buy a new car or repair the old one.
Buying a new car would give you many benefits. You would get a more efficient, reliable, modern, and safe car that meets your needs and preferences. You would also save money and time in the long run, as you would avoid costly and frequent repairs. However, buying a new car also has some drawbacks. You would have to pay a large upfront cost, you would have to learn how to use the new features, and you would have to deal with the hassle of selling or disposing of the old car.
Repairing the old car would also have some advantages. You would avoid the upfront cost of buying a new car, you would keep the familiarity and comfort of the old car, and you would extend its lifespan. However, repairing the old car also has some disadvantages. You would still have to pay for the repairs, which could be expensive and frequent. You would also have to compromise on the performance, features, and safety of the car, as you would be trying to make it work with older technologies. Moreover, you would risk not meeting the latest standards and regulations, which could affect your eligibility for certain benefits or opportunities.
How Does This Apply to CMMC?
The car analogy can help us understand the trade-offs between building new and fixing old IT environments for CMMC. Building new environments would mean creating a separate and secure network for handling controlled unclassified information (CUI) and other sensitive data. This would allow defense contractors to design and implement the best practices and technologies for CMMC compliance, such as encryption, segmentation, monitoring, and backup. Building new environments would also reduce the risk of cyberattacks, data breaches, and non-compliance penalties. However, building new environments would also require a significant investment of time, money, and resources. Defense contractors would have to plan, procure, deploy, and test the new environments, as well as train their staff and migrate their data and applications.
Fixing old environments would mean trying to retrofit the existing network with the necessary security controls and processes for CMMC compliance. This would allow defense contractors to leverage their current infrastructure and avoid the disruption of building new environments. Fixing old environments would also enable defense contractors to maintain their business continuity and operations. However, fixing old environments would also pose many challenges and risks. Defense contractors would have to identify and remediate the gaps and vulnerabilities in their network, which could be complex and time-consuming. They would also have to deal with the compatibility and integration issues of adding new security solutions to their old systems. Moreover, they would risk not achieving the desired level of CMMC compliance, as they would be trying to make their old environments meet the new standards.
Considering Costs: Build New or Fix Old
The CMMC program is designed to assess an organization’s entire IT environment, and in the case of prime contractors, may soon include flow down requirements to attest to the security posture of their subcontractors’ environments as well. That means that many organizations will need to assess their CMMC readiness against a mix of cloud, hybrid, and on-premise environments.
When considering whether it’s better to build a new or fix an existing environment, the most important factor to consider is cost. The cost of preparing for CMMC will vary depending on the size, complexity, and maturity of the IT environment, as well as the level of CMMC certification required. Here are the typical types of costs contractors should consider when preparing their IT environment for CMMC compliance:
Hardware: Includes the purchase of new servers, switches, routers, firewalls, and other devices for the new environment, or the upgrade of the existing devices for the old environment.
Software: Includes the purchase of new licenses, subscriptions, or updates for the security solutions, such as antivirus, firewall, encryption, backup, and monitoring software.
Services: Includes the fees of external consultants, auditors, or contractors that help with the planning, implementation, testing, and certification of the new or old environment.
Training: Includes the expenses of educating the staff on how to use, manage, and maintain the new or old environment.
Maintenance: Includes the ongoing costs of keeping the new or old environment operational, such as power, cooling, support, and updates.
Repairs: Includes the occasional costs of fixing the problems or issues that arise in the new or old environment, such as hardware failures, software bugs, or security incidents.
While specific costs vary by technology and service provider, most organizations can expect to see a higher upfront cost to build a new environment, but lower ongoing costs for its maintenance and repairs. For organizations that decide to only focus on upgrading or migrating certain parts of their IT environment, it’s also important to consider the potential cost benefits and risks to the environment’s overall performance, reliability, security, and compliance. Here are some questions to help guide that decision-making process:
Do we have the financial and technical staff resources to achieve compliance with our current environment?
Is it more cost-effective to migrate our CUI workloads to a separate government-compliant cloud enclave?
Are we better prepared to meet any other future compliance requirements with our current environment?
Where to Start?
While the path to CMMC compliance may not be simple, there are some scenarios where the decision to build new or fix old becomes quite clear. Organizations that are significantly behind on compliance standards — and lack the internal resources to address those gaps — may opt to build new right away. On the other hand, organizations that are already heavily resourced for compliance management may only need to make small adjustments to ensure new requirements are met.
Still wondering where to begin? BlueVoyant’s CMMC compliance decision tree should help get you started.
Build New or Fix Old: CMMC Compliance Decision Tree
Please keep in mind that GCC and GCCH are Microsoft environment that can meet FedRAMP requirements. For more information on the difference between different O365 environments please visit Richard Wakeman’s article on “Understanding Compliance Between Commercial, Government and DoD Offerings“
No matter which path your organization decides to take, there are several activities that every defense contractor can do now to effectively reduce cybersecurity risk and increase resilience in the long term:
Understand your FCI/CUI dataflow and prepare for CMMC readiness.
Verify compliance of cloud services used to handle CUI.
Gain deeper visibility of your supply chain.
Create scalable risk mitigation plans to address ongoing threats.
Regularly validate technical controls with continuous monitoring tools.
Establish processes to collaborate with subtractors on cyber remediation.
Conclusion
Preparing for CMMC is a critical and urgent task for defense contractors that want to stay competitive and compliant in the defense industry. They have two choices: build new environments for the or try to fix their current environment. Both options have pros and cons, and the decision will depend on several factors, such as the current state of the environment, the budget, the timeline, and the desired level of CMMC certification. Defense contractors need to evaluate their options carefully and choose the one that best meets their needs and expectations.
Interested in learning more about CMMC compliance? Check out BlueVoyant’s recent webinar here.
Appendix
Here are additional blog articles from CMMC Acceleration:
Blog Title
Aka Link
Sharing Lessons Learned from Microsoft’s Joint Surveillance Audit
Get Started with Microsoft Learn for CMMC
New! Microsoft Collaboration Framework
https://aka.ms/ND-ISAC/CollabFramework
New! ND-ISAC MSCloud – Reference Identity Architectures for the US Defense Industrial Base
https://aka.ms/ND-ISAC/IdentityWP
History of Microsoft Cloud Service Offerings leading to the US Sovereign Cloud for Government
https://aka.ms/USSovereignCloud
Gold Standard! Understanding Compliance Between Microsoft 365 Commercial, GCC, GCC-High and DoD Offerings
https://aka.ms/MSGovCompliance
The Microsoft 365 Government (GCC High) Conundrum – DIB Data Enclave vs Going All In
Microsoft US Sovereign Cloud Myth Busters – A Global Address List (GAL) Can Span Multiple Tenants
Microsoft US Sovereign Cloud Myth Busters – A Single Domain Should Not Span Multiple Tenants
Microsoft US Sovereign Cloud Myth Busters – Active Directory Does Not Require Restructuring
Microsoft US Sovereign Cloud Myth Busters – CUI Effectively Requires Data Sovereignty
Microsoft expands qualification of contractors for government cloud offerings
https://aka.ms/GovCloudEligibility
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Easily caption videos in PowerPoint for the web
Hi Microsoft 365 Insiders!
:globe_with_meridians:Accessibility is key in today’s diverse environment, and we’re excited to introduce a new feature in PowerPoint for the web that makes it easier than ever to caption your videos. This enhancement not only supports inclusivity but also enriches the viewer’s experience by providing clear, concise captions for all video content.
In our latest blog, Peter Wu, Principal Engineer on the PowerPoint team, delves into the simple steps you can take to add captions to your videos directly from within PowerPoint, ensuring your message is accessible to everyone. Whether for educational purposes, training, or international audiences, this feature is designed to meet the needs of every PowerPoint user.
Blog: Easily caption videos in PowerPoint for the web
This new feature will be coming in June!
Perry Sjogren
Microsoft 365 Insider Social Media Manager
Become a Microsoft 365 Insider and gain exclusive access to new features and help shape the future of Microsoft 365. Join Now: Windows | Mac | iOS | Android
Hi Microsoft 365 Insiders!
:globe_with_meridians:Accessibility is key in today’s diverse environment, and we’re excited to introduce a new feature in PowerPoint for the web that makes it easier than ever to caption your videos. This enhancement not only supports inclusivity but also enriches the viewer’s experience by providing clear, concise captions for all video content.
In our latest blog, Peter Wu, Principal Engineer on the PowerPoint team, delves into the simple steps you can take to add captions to your videos directly from within PowerPoint, ensuring your message is accessible to everyone. Whether for educational purposes, training, or international audiences, this feature is designed to meet the needs of every PowerPoint user.
Blog: Easily caption videos in PowerPoint for the web
This new feature will be coming in June!
Perry Sjogren
Microsoft 365 Insider Social Media Manager
Become a Microsoft 365 Insider and gain exclusive access to new features and help shape the future of Microsoft 365. Join Now: Windows | Mac | iOS | Android Read More
Azure – PowerShell script to change the Table Retention in Azure Log Analytics Workspaces
With large scale implementation of Azure, the Log Analytics Workspace volume could increase and the default value for retention is quite long if you are not changing it.
This PowerShell script will help you to reset the 2 retention values applied in Workspace Tables (Live and Total).
I applied a selection criteria based in name as we are using a naming convention with status (prod, vs nonprod), you can anyway adapt this part with your context.
#Install-Module -Name Az -Repository PSGallery -Force
Import-module Az
Connect-AzAccount
$RetentionDays = 30
$TotalRetentionDays = 30
$AzureRetentionDays = 90
$AzureTotalRetentionDays = 90
$namecriteria = “nonprod”
$All_Az_Subscriptions = Get-AzSubscription
Foreach ($Az_Subscription in $All_Az_Subscriptions)
{
###################################################
#Set the context
Write-Host “Working on subscription “”$($Az_Subscription.Name)”””
Set-AzContext -SubscriptionObject $Az_Subscription | Out-Null
$AllWorkspaces = Get-AzOperationalInsightsWorkspace
foreach ($myWorkspace in $AllWorkspaces)
{
Write-Host ” —————“, $myWorkspace.Name ,”—————- ” -foregroundcolor “gray”
if ($myWorkspace.Name -match $namecriteria)
{
Write-Host ” >>> WORKSPACE TO APPLY RETENTION ADJUSTMENT:”, $myWorkspace.Name -foregroundcolor “green”
if ($myWorkspace.retentionInDays -gt $RetentionDays)
{
Write-Host ” >>> APPLYING DEFAULT RETENTION PERIOD:”, $RetentionDays -foregroundcolor “yellow”
Set-AzOperationalInsightsWorkspace -ResourceGroupName $myWorkspace.ResourceGroupName -Name $myWorkspace.Name -RetentionInDays $RetentionDays
}
$GetAllTables = Get-AzOperationalInsightsTable -ResourceGroupName $myWorkspace.ResourceGroupName -WorkspaceName $myWorkspace.Name
foreach ($MyTable in $GetAllTables)
{
if (($MyTable.Name -eq “AzureActivity”) -or ($MyTable.Name -eq “Usage”))
{
if (($MyTable.RetentionInDays -gt $AzureRetentionDays) -or ($MyTable.TotalRetentionInDays -gt $AzureTotalRetentionDays))
{
Write-Host ” >>> APPLYING SPECIFIC RETENTION PERIOD:”, $AzureRetentionDays, “- TABLE:”, $MyTable.Name -foregroundcolor “yellow”
Update-AzOperationalInsightsTable -ResourceGroupName $MyTable.ResourceGroupName -WorkspaceName $MyTable.WorkspaceName -TableName $MyTable.Name -RetentionInDays $AzureRetentionDays -TotalRetentionInDays $AzureTotalRetentionDays
}
else
{
Write-Host ” >>> NO CHANGE FOR RETENTION PERIOD FOR TABLE:”, $MyTable.Name -foregroundcolor “green”
}
}
else
{
if (($MyTable.RetentionInDays -gt $RetentionDays) -or ($MyTable.TotalRetentionInDays -gt $RetentionDays))
{
Write-Host ” >>> APPLYING NEW RETENTION PERIOD:”, $RetentionDays, “- TABLE:”, $MyTable.Name -foregroundcolor “yellow”
Update-AzOperationalInsightsTable -ResourceGroupName $MyTable.ResourceGroupName -WorkspaceName $MyTable.WorkspaceName -TableName $MyTable.Name -RetentionInDays $RetentionDays -TotalRetentionInDays $TotalRetentionDays
}
else
{
Write-Host ” >>> NO CHANGE FOR RETENTION PERIOD FOR TABLE:”, $MyTable.Name -foregroundcolor “green”
}
}
}
}
else
{
Write-Host ” >>> WORKSPACE NOT CONCERNED BY THIS CHANGE:”, $myWorkspace.Name -foregroundcolor “green”
}
}
}
With this script, we reduced the Workspace cost for non prod drastically maintaining only the last 30 days live without any archive.
The material used for this script is:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-monitor/logs/data-retention-archive?tabs=portal-3%2Cportal-1%2Cportal-2https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/az.operationalinsights/get-azoperationalinsightsworkspace?view=azps-11.6.0https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/az.operationalinsights/update-azoperationalinsightstable?view=azps-11.6.0
Fabrice Romelard
With large scale implementation of Azure, the Log Analytics Workspace volume could increase and the default value for retention is quite long if you are not changing it.This PowerShell script will help you to reset the 2 retention values applied in Workspace Tables (Live and Total).I applied a selection criteria based in name as we are using a naming convention with status (prod, vs nonprod), you can anyway adapt this part with your context. #Install-Module -Name Az -Repository PSGallery -Force
Import-module Az
Connect-AzAccount
$RetentionDays = 30
$TotalRetentionDays = 30
$AzureRetentionDays = 90
$AzureTotalRetentionDays = 90
$namecriteria = “nonprod”
$All_Az_Subscriptions = Get-AzSubscription
Foreach ($Az_Subscription in $All_Az_Subscriptions)
{
###################################################
#Set the context
Write-Host “Working on subscription “”$($Az_Subscription.Name)”””
Set-AzContext -SubscriptionObject $Az_Subscription | Out-Null
$AllWorkspaces = Get-AzOperationalInsightsWorkspace
foreach ($myWorkspace in $AllWorkspaces)
{
Write-Host ” —————“, $myWorkspace.Name ,”—————- ” -foregroundcolor “gray”
if ($myWorkspace.Name -match $namecriteria)
{
Write-Host ” >>> WORKSPACE TO APPLY RETENTION ADJUSTMENT:”, $myWorkspace.Name -foregroundcolor “green”
if ($myWorkspace.retentionInDays -gt $RetentionDays)
{
Write-Host ” >>> APPLYING DEFAULT RETENTION PERIOD:”, $RetentionDays -foregroundcolor “yellow”
Set-AzOperationalInsightsWorkspace -ResourceGroupName $myWorkspace.ResourceGroupName -Name $myWorkspace.Name -RetentionInDays $RetentionDays
}
$GetAllTables = Get-AzOperationalInsightsTable -ResourceGroupName $myWorkspace.ResourceGroupName -WorkspaceName $myWorkspace.Name
foreach ($MyTable in $GetAllTables)
{
if (($MyTable.Name -eq “AzureActivity”) -or ($MyTable.Name -eq “Usage”))
{
if (($MyTable.RetentionInDays -gt $AzureRetentionDays) -or ($MyTable.TotalRetentionInDays -gt $AzureTotalRetentionDays))
{
Write-Host ” >>> APPLYING SPECIFIC RETENTION PERIOD:”, $AzureRetentionDays, “- TABLE:”, $MyTable.Name -foregroundcolor “yellow”
Update-AzOperationalInsightsTable -ResourceGroupName $MyTable.ResourceGroupName -WorkspaceName $MyTable.WorkspaceName -TableName $MyTable.Name -RetentionInDays $AzureRetentionDays -TotalRetentionInDays $AzureTotalRetentionDays
}
else
{
Write-Host ” >>> NO CHANGE FOR RETENTION PERIOD FOR TABLE:”, $MyTable.Name -foregroundcolor “green”
}
}
else
{
if (($MyTable.RetentionInDays -gt $RetentionDays) -or ($MyTable.TotalRetentionInDays -gt $RetentionDays))
{
Write-Host ” >>> APPLYING NEW RETENTION PERIOD:”, $RetentionDays, “- TABLE:”, $MyTable.Name -foregroundcolor “yellow”
Update-AzOperationalInsightsTable -ResourceGroupName $MyTable.ResourceGroupName -WorkspaceName $MyTable.WorkspaceName -TableName $MyTable.Name -RetentionInDays $RetentionDays -TotalRetentionInDays $TotalRetentionDays
}
else
{
Write-Host ” >>> NO CHANGE FOR RETENTION PERIOD FOR TABLE:”, $MyTable.Name -foregroundcolor “green”
}
}
}
}
else
{
Write-Host ” >>> WORKSPACE NOT CONCERNED BY THIS CHANGE:”, $myWorkspace.Name -foregroundcolor “green”
}
}
} With this script, we reduced the Workspace cost for non prod drastically maintaining only the last 30 days live without any archive. The material used for this script is:https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-monitor/logs/data-retention-archive?tabs=portal-3%2Cportal-1%2Cportal-2https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/az.operationalinsights/get-azoperationalinsightsworkspace?view=azps-11.6.0https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/az.operationalinsights/update-azoperationalinsightstable?view=azps-11.6.0Fabrice Romelard Read More
New version of excel is having permission issues with opening some files
Hello
Please i need help on this issue.
The newest version of Excel 16.85 is having permission issues with opening encrypted Excel files. Had to roll back to the older 16.84 version for it to work.
Hello Please i need help on this issue. The newest version of Excel 16.85 is having permission issues with opening encrypted Excel files. Had to roll back to the older 16.84 version for it to work. Read More
Problem with an if formula
Trying to write an If formula. If cell A1 has A then formula A runs is cell C1. If Cell A1 has B then formula B runs in cell C1. This is what I tried but get an
=IF(A1=”UG”,(IF(ISBLANK(B1),””,EDATE(B1,6)),(“”)),IF(A1=”PS”,(IF(ISBLANK(B1),””,EDATE(B1,8)),(“”)))
Trying to write an If formula. If cell A1 has A then formula A runs is cell C1. If Cell A1 has B then formula B runs in cell C1. This is what I tried but get an =IF(A1=”UG”,(IF(ISBLANK(B1),””,EDATE(B1,6)),(“”)),IF(A1=”PS”,(IF(ISBLANK(B1),””,EDATE(B1,8)),(“”))) Read More
Microsoft 365 – Word – Find & Replace Highlighter Colour
In the desktop app of Microsoft Word, is there a way to change the highlight colour from grey to something more easily seen when using Find and Replace?
In the desktop app of Microsoft Word, is there a way to change the highlight colour from grey to something more easily seen when using Find and Replace? Read More
Read conversation threads in Oldest to Newest order
I have held off switching to New Outlook for a long time now because it’s lacking a feature from Old Outlook. Specifically, New Outlook does allow you to sort conversations with either Oldest or Newest first, which is good, but within a conversation, New Outlook seems to always put the newest message at the top. I prefer to read top to bottom and I generally want to read older messages first, so I’m curious if I’m missing something or if the rest of the world reads their emails differently. GMail conversations are sorted with the newest conversation on top, but within a conversation, the oldest messages are at the top. Am I missing the option to configure this?
I have held off switching to New Outlook for a long time now because it’s lacking a feature from Old Outlook. Specifically, New Outlook does allow you to sort conversations with either Oldest or Newest first, which is good, but within a conversation, New Outlook seems to always put the newest message at the top. I prefer to read top to bottom and I generally want to read older messages first, so I’m curious if I’m missing something or if the rest of the world reads their emails differently. GMail conversations are sorted with the newest conversation on top, but within a conversation, the oldest messages are at the top. Am I missing the option to configure this? Read More
Play videos in Outlook with Microsoft Stream
Hi Microsoft 365 Insiders!
Looking to make your internal communications more engaging and effective? Look no further! Embed Stream videos directly into your Outlook emails so that recipients can play back the video inline.
Read our latest blog to learn how: Play videos in Outlook with Microsoft Stream ️
Try it out and let us know what you think!
Thanks,
Perry Sjogren
Microsoft 365 Insider Social Media Manager
Become a Microsoft 365 Insider and gain exclusive access to new features and help shape the future of Microsoft 365.
Join Now: Windows | Mac | iOS | Android
Hi Microsoft 365 Insiders!
Looking to make your internal communications more engaging and effective? Look no further! Embed Stream videos directly into your Outlook emails so that recipients can play back the video inline.
Read our latest blog to learn how: Play videos in Outlook with Microsoft Stream ️
Try it out and let us know what you think!
Thanks,
Perry Sjogren
Microsoft 365 Insider Social Media Manager
Become a Microsoft 365 Insider and gain exclusive access to new features and help shape the future of Microsoft 365.
Join Now: Windows | Mac | iOS | Android Read More
Meeting recordings not available
Hello,
My team has saved the Microsoft Stream (Classic) recordings and I am not able to access them now. I read that the videos should have been migrated to Stream by now. Could you please help in retrieving those videos, since they have many important brownbag sessions. Thank you.
Regards,
Priya.
Hello,
My team has saved the Microsoft Stream (Classic) recordings and I am not able to access them now. I read that the videos should have been migrated to Stream by now. Could you please help in retrieving those videos, since they have many important brownbag sessions. Thank you.
Regards,
Priya. Read More
Phish delivered due to an ETR override
We recently switching from Defender to Proofpoint Essentials for email security. During implementation they had us create a Proofpoint bypass Spam Exchange Transport Rule. The rule marks anything coming from a Proofpoint IP address as Spam confidence level -1 (SCL -1). This rule seems to also be stopping Microsoft from sending phishing emails to quarantine.
Since implementation we’ve been receiving a lot of alerts for “Phish delivered due to an ETR override”. We’ve investigated the emails, and most are indeed phishing emails that Proofpoint has missed. Is it possible to adjust the transport rule to allow Microsoft to still quarantine these phishing emails? If not, what is the impact of disabling the rule? The emails will fail SPF, DKIM, and DMARC because they are delivered by Proofpoint, not the original sender.
Ultimately, I’d like to know if it’s possible to allow Microsoft to quarantine phishing emails that have already been filtered and delivered by a 3rd party cyber security vendor.
We recently switching from Defender to Proofpoint Essentials for email security. During implementation they had us create a Proofpoint bypass Spam Exchange Transport Rule. The rule marks anything coming from a Proofpoint IP address as Spam confidence level -1 (SCL -1). This rule seems to also be stopping Microsoft from sending phishing emails to quarantine. Since implementation we’ve been receiving a lot of alerts for “Phish delivered due to an ETR override”. We’ve investigated the emails, and most are indeed phishing emails that Proofpoint has missed. Is it possible to adjust the transport rule to allow Microsoft to still quarantine these phishing emails? If not, what is the impact of disabling the rule? The emails will fail SPF, DKIM, and DMARC because they are delivered by Proofpoint, not the original sender. Ultimately, I’d like to know if it’s possible to allow Microsoft to quarantine phishing emails that have already been filtered and delivered by a 3rd party cyber security vendor. Read More
Announcing: New NIS2.0 Partner Readiness in June
The Network and Information Systems Directive 2 (NIS2) represents the European Union’s latest stride in bolstering cybersecurity across Member States, coming into effect in October 2024 which is less than six months away. As digital threats evolve, NIS2 represents a unique opportunity to help customers improve their cybersecurity posture now.
Our mission is to equip you with the knowledge and tools necessary for helping your customers not just to meet the NIS2 requirements but to exceed them.
Microsoft has partnered with Fast Lane, our training partner, to offer an exclusive webinar series designed to demystify the NIS2 directive for you as our Partner and how you can use it as an opportunity to help customers improve their cybersecurity health.
The webinar series will run in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian between June 18th and June 27th.
Each 2-hour webinar will offer insight into:
NIS2 Legal interpretation at the local country level by a cybersecurity legal expert.
In depth overview: How the Microsoft platform can help customers meet NIS2 expectations.
Guidance: how you as a Microsoft partner can build a sales offer or a solution around NIS2.
At the end of each webinar, you will receive a Microsoft-commissioned playbook how to build your sales offer with NIS2 and evolve your practice with Microsoft Security.
Reserve your seat and register today: NIS2 (fastlane.net)
For those looking for a fast start you can access the newest resources here:
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Roles For Quick Access/Responsibility Assignment
It would be great if there were “focused” roles that could quickly be assigned to select users so that they can manage the following for the entire organisation or even where you could select up to most of the users in an organisation which you can manage the following for.
-Meeting responses (there are times when persons within the organisation might respond via email rather than accept/decline a meeting in response to a meeting). This would be a great focused role, only supplying the feature/capability required
-Mailbox delegation: A role should be created that can quickly provide such persons holding such responsibility as managing a users mailbox whilst they are out of office. Such a feature could provide ability to choose whether to automatically enable access when a user is out of office only or at all times. It would also be great for those requiring management OOO user mailboxes for the entire organisation if so required.
I’m sure there are other possible focused roles also.
It would be great if there were “focused” roles that could quickly be assigned to select users so that they can manage the following for the entire organisation or even where you could select up to most of the users in an organisation which you can manage the following for. -Meeting responses (there are times when persons within the organisation might respond via email rather than accept/decline a meeting in response to a meeting). This would be a great focused role, only supplying the feature/capability required -Mailbox delegation: A role should be created that can quickly provide such persons holding such responsibility as managing a users mailbox whilst they are out of office. Such a feature could provide ability to choose whether to automatically enable access when a user is out of office only or at all times. It would also be great for those requiring management OOO user mailboxes for the entire organisation if so required. I’m sure there are other possible focused roles also. Read More
Additional Organiser Rights/Capabilities For Meetings
Additional rights/capabilities should be provided to organisers of meetings. There are times when, instead of clicking the accept/decline button for whatever reason, recipients instead shoot an email response stating that they will be attending the meeting.
Outlook should, maybe with the help of CoPilot, recognise this and automatically accept/decline meeting invites for the recipient placing them in the Attendee list under Yes or No. Alternatively, the meeting organiser should be able to accept/decline the meeting on the recipients behalf which will send a follow-up email to the recipeint making them aware that the meeting was accepted/declined.
This would be a great feature and could surely utilise the AI features that Microsoft looks to impliment into M365.
Additional rights/capabilities should be provided to organisers of meetings. There are times when, instead of clicking the accept/decline button for whatever reason, recipients instead shoot an email response stating that they will be attending the meeting. Outlook should, maybe with the help of CoPilot, recognise this and automatically accept/decline meeting invites for the recipient placing them in the Attendee list under Yes or No. Alternatively, the meeting organiser should be able to accept/decline the meeting on the recipients behalf which will send a follow-up email to the recipeint making them aware that the meeting was accepted/declined. This would be a great feature and could surely utilise the AI features that Microsoft looks to impliment into M365. Read More
SharePoint library PDF viewer looks different for a user
One of the users reported that his files are rendered in different way compared to other users. When the user opens a PDFs in a SharePoint document library it opens in black transparent screen ,the top bar is also different from other users. What could be the reason for this issue. Here is the screenshot of the users view and normal view.
One of the users reported that his files are rendered in different way compared to other users. When the user opens a PDFs in a SharePoint document library it opens in black transparent screen ,the top bar is also different from other users. What could be the reason for this issue. Here is the screenshot of the users view and normal view. Read More
JSON Header Formatting SharePoint list – Subheading
Hi
I have a SharePoint list form, and I have been asked to add “Something small in the header to say ‘For Internal Use Only'”
I am struggling to change the JSON to add a subheading. Can anyone advise?
{
“elmType”: “div”,
“attributes”: {
“class”: “ms-borderColor-Green”
},
“style”: {
“width”: “99%”,
“border-top-width”: “0px”,
“border-bottom-width”: “1px”,
“border-left-width”: “0px”,
“border-right-width”: “0px”,
“border-style”: “solid”,
“margin-bottom”: “16px”,
“background-color”: “#13A10E”
},
“children”: [
{
“elmType”: “div”,
“style”: {
“display”: “flex”,
“box-sizing”: “border-box”,
“align-items”: “center”
},
“children”: [
{
“elmType”: “div”,
“attributes”: {
“iconName”: “Page”,
“class”: “ms-fontSize-42 ms-fontWeight-regular ms-fontColor-#0C0C0C”,
“title”: “Details”
},
“style”: {
“flex”: “none”,
“padding”: “0px”,
“padding-left”: “0px”,
“height”: “36px”
}
}
]
},
{
“elmType”: “div”,
“attributes”: {
“class”: “ms-fontColor-#0C0C0Cy ms-fontWeight-bold ms-fontSize-24”
},
“style”: {
“box-sizing”: “border-box”,
“width”: “100%”,
“text-align”: “left”,
“padding”: “21px 12px”,
“overflow”: “hidden”
},
“children”: [
{
“elmType”: “div”,
“txtContent”: “= [$Title] + ‘ PID ‘”
}
]
}
]
}
Thanks if anyone can help
Conn
Hi I have a SharePoint list form, and I have been asked to add “Something small in the header to say ‘For Internal Use Only'” I am struggling to change the JSON to add a subheading. Can anyone advise? {
“elmType”: “div”,
“attributes”: {
“class”: “ms-borderColor-Green”
},
“style”: {
“width”: “99%”,
“border-top-width”: “0px”,
“border-bottom-width”: “1px”,
“border-left-width”: “0px”,
“border-right-width”: “0px”,
“border-style”: “solid”,
“margin-bottom”: “16px”,
“background-color”: “#13A10E”
},
“children”: [
{
“elmType”: “div”,
“style”: {
“display”: “flex”,
“box-sizing”: “border-box”,
“align-items”: “center”
},
“children”: [
{
“elmType”: “div”,
“attributes”: {
“iconName”: “Page”,
“class”: “ms-fontSize-42 ms-fontWeight-regular ms-fontColor-#0C0C0C”,
“title”: “Details”
},
“style”: {
“flex”: “none”,
“padding”: “0px”,
“padding-left”: “0px”,
“height”: “36px”
}
}
]
},
{
“elmType”: “div”,
“attributes”: {
“class”: “ms-fontColor-#0C0C0Cy ms-fontWeight-bold ms-fontSize-24”
},
“style”: {
“box-sizing”: “border-box”,
“width”: “100%”,
“text-align”: “left”,
“padding”: “21px 12px”,
“overflow”: “hidden”
},
“children”: [
{
“elmType”: “div”,
“txtContent”: “= [$Title] + ‘ PID ‘”
}
]
}
]
} Thanks if anyone can helpConn Read More
Group/DL Meetings- Ability to see all responses and non-responses rather than just accepted
Organisers of meetings sent to Distribution Lists or Groups (Microsoft 365 Groups included) are unable to view who has not responded to a meeting in list. They receive emails regarding this but it would be great for this information to be placed in one location for review so that they know who, if anyone, to chase for a response.
Yes, it is great to see who has accepted but it is not the whole picture that meeting organisers need to see. Maybe this info can be included on either the Scheduling Poll or the Tracking section in Outlook.
Organisers of meetings sent to Distribution Lists or Groups (Microsoft 365 Groups included) are unable to view who has not responded to a meeting in list. They receive emails regarding this but it would be great for this information to be placed in one location for review so that they know who, if anyone, to chase for a response. Yes, it is great to see who has accepted but it is not the whole picture that meeting organisers need to see. Maybe this info can be included on either the Scheduling Poll or the Tracking section in Outlook. Read More
Azure – PowerShell Script to delete a specific Tag for any resources in all your Subscriptions
A classical question after many months of usage and delegation to different admin is related to the TAG Cleanup.
You can be faced to a large diversity of Tags created at one moment, but not useful and mainly not maintained.
This small script will help you to execute this cleanup in all your subscriptions you are in charge.
Import-module Az
Connect-AzAccount
[string]$TagName = “YourSpecificTagKey”
$TagCount = 0
$All_Az_Subscriptions = Get-AzSubscription
Foreach ($Az_Subscription in $All_Az_Subscriptions)
{
Write-Host ” “
Write-Host ” ————————————— “
Write-Host “Working on subscription “”$($Az_Subscription.Name)””” -foregroundcolor “yellow”
$TagCount = 0
Set-AzContext -SubscriptionObject $Az_Subscription | Out-Null
$AllTaggedresources = Get-AzResource -TagName $TagName
$TagCount = $AllTaggedresources.Count
Write-Host ” >> TAG “” $($TagName) “” found “” $($TagCount) “” times” -foregroundcolor “green”
if($TagCount -gt 0)
{
$AllTaggedresources.ForEach{
if ( $_.tags.ContainsKey($TagName) ) {
$_.tags.Remove($TagName)
}
$_ | Set-AzResource -Tags $_.tags -Force
}
}
}
This script was inspired by these pages:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/54162372/how-to-fix-this-error-in-azure-powershell-can-not-remove-tag-tag-value-becaushttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/az.resources/set-azresource?view=azps-11.6.0
Fabrice Romelard
A classical question after many months of usage and delegation to different admin is related to the TAG Cleanup.You can be faced to a large diversity of Tags created at one moment, but not useful and mainly not maintained.This small script will help you to execute this cleanup in all your subscriptions you are in charge. Import-module Az
Connect-AzAccount
[string]$TagName = “YourSpecificTagKey”
$TagCount = 0
$All_Az_Subscriptions = Get-AzSubscription
Foreach ($Az_Subscription in $All_Az_Subscriptions)
{
Write-Host ” “
Write-Host ” ————————————— “
Write-Host “Working on subscription “”$($Az_Subscription.Name)””” -foregroundcolor “yellow”
$TagCount = 0
Set-AzContext -SubscriptionObject $Az_Subscription | Out-Null
$AllTaggedresources = Get-AzResource -TagName $TagName
$TagCount = $AllTaggedresources.Count
Write-Host ” >> TAG “” $($TagName) “” found “” $($TagCount) “” times” -foregroundcolor “green”
if($TagCount -gt 0)
{
$AllTaggedresources.ForEach{
if ( $_.tags.ContainsKey($TagName) ) {
$_.tags.Remove($TagName)
}
$_ | Set-AzResource -Tags $_.tags -Force
}
}
}This script was inspired by these pages:https://stackoverflow.com/questions/54162372/how-to-fix-this-error-in-azure-powershell-can-not-remove-tag-tag-value-becaushttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/az.resources/set-azresource?view=azps-11.6.0Fabrice Romelard Read More
Clinical Trials Custom Copilot
I’m a Sr. Architect and Responsible AI Champ at Microsoft, Industry Solutions Delivery, Healthcare and Life Science OU and have extensive experience, over 24 years in the industry. I’ve always tied technology to their use cases and what problems it can solve and the business outcomes. I am very technical, a background in computer engineering, computer science, programming and development but approaching solutions only from a technical perspective hasn’t always panned out without looking at how it’ll be used and who’s using it.
Idea:
I wanted to learn hands-on Azure OpenAI resources, model deployments of i.e. chat model (e.g. gpt-35-turbo-16k, gpt-4) with some kind of use case in mind.
Since I’m in the Healthcare and Life Science industry, I was looking for use cases that could be helpful and ended up asking “Is there a way to search Clinical Trials data using ChatGPT?” Of course, there are other ways to search clinical trials via ClinicalTrials.gov and the dataset is public but wanted to combine OpenAI + AI Search + ChatGPT.
So, I embarked on answering this question and learning along the way ended up deploying the following components:
Azure OpenAI Service
Blob Storage (Several ways to get data here: https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/resources/download. I just went with a simple storage so I can house the XML files)
Azure AI Search Index
A Chat App UX (Luckily there is a sample app available I can use to start from https://github.com/microsoft/sample-app-aoai-chatGPT/). I’ve cloned that repo to start the clinical trials copilot repo.
Azure CosmosDB to store chat history (this is also included in the sample AOAI chat app)
PowerBI to view chat data from CosmosDB
Conceptual Architecture:
See the full details in my repo, Enjoy! https://github.com/dondinulos/clinical-trials-copilot/
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Host Microsoft Defender data locally in Switzerland
We are pleased to announce that local data residency support in Switzerland is now generally available for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Microsoft Defender for Identity.
This announcement demonstrates our commitment to providing customers with the highest levels of security and compliance by offering services that are aligned to local data sovereignty requirements. Swiss customers can now confidently onboard to Defender for Endpoint and Defender for Identity in Switzerland, knowing that their data at rest will remain within Swiss boundaries, which ensures that customers in Switzerland can meet their regulatory obligations and maintain control over their data.
In addition to Switzerland, Defender data can also be hosted in other regions including the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
Configure Microsoft Defender for Endpoint with local data hosted in Switzerland.
Prerequisites
Your EntraID tenant needs to be set to Switzerland, so the Microsoft Defender for Endpoint tenant will also be provisioned in this geo.
To access the GoLocal Geo instance in Switzerland, you need to ensure each device is onboarded using Streamlined Connectivity for devices on their network (see Enable access to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint service URLs in the Proxy Server for further details).
I am a new Defender for Endpoint customer
Once the EntraID tenant is created, access the Security Portal (https://security.microsoft.com) and continue with the onboarding in the GoLocal geo.
Once that process is completed, the Microsoft Defender for Endpoint / Microsoft Defender XDR tenant should be located in the GoLocal geo.
Confirmation: In the portal, go to Settings -> Microsoft Defender XDR-> Account; and see where the service is storing your data at rest.
For example: in the image below, the service location for this Microsoft Defender XDR demo tenant is Switzerland.
However, if the location of the data at rest is in one of the current service locations of US/UK/EU/AU, then a tenant reset needs to be requested via Customer Service and Support (CSS) (see next section).
I am a Defender for Endpoint customer with existing tenants in geographies different from the Swiss GoLocal Geo and want to move to the local Geo in Switzerland.
Existing customers have to request a tenant reset by contacting the Microsoft Customer Support. Support can be reached by clicking on the “?” top right in the portal when signed in as an Admin. If you are a Microsoft Unified support customer, please reach out to your Customer Success Account Manager to support you in the process.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint will store and process data in the same location as used by Microsoft Defender XDR. If Microsoft Defender XDR has not been turned on yet, onboarding to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint will also turn on Microsoft Defender XDR and a new data center location is automatically selected based on the location of active Microsoft 365 security services. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/security/defender-endpoint/production-deployment?view=o365-worldwide#data-center-location
Streamlined connectivity
Configure Microsoft Defender for Identity data to be hosted in Switzerland
Prerequisites
EntraID tenant needs to be set to Switzerland, so the Microsoft Defender for Identity workspace would be provisioned in this geo as well.
I am a new Microsoft Defender for Identity customer
Once the EntraID tenant is created, access the Security Portal (https://security.microsoft.com) and continue with the Microsoft Defender for Identity workspace onboarding in the GoLocal geo.
The previous point is required because when a Microsoft Defender for Identity workspace is created, it is created in the Azure region closest to the customer’s EntraID tenant location. See Microsoft Defender for Identity frequently asked questions – Microsoft Defender for Identity | Microsoft Learn.
I am a Defender for Identity customer with existing tenants in geographies different from the Swiss GoLocal Geo and want to move to the local Geo in Switzerland.
Existing customers have to request a workspace reset by contacting the Microsoft Customer Support. Support can be reached by clicking on the “?” top right in the portal when signed in as an Admin. If you are a Microsoft Unified support customer, please reach out to your Customer Success Account Manager to support you in the process.
With both our Endpoint Detection and Response, as well as our Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) products now available for local data residency in Switzerland, we are giving more organizations the ability to meet local data sovereignty requirements, while deploying the best security solutions for their estate.
More information:
Ready to go local? Read our documentation for more information on how to get started.
Not yet a customer? Start a 90-day trial for Defender for Endpoint
Check out our website to learn more about our industry leading Endpoint protection platform
Discover why ITDR is critical to keep your organization safe against rising identity threats
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More