Your business runs on Microsoft 365. Email, file sharing, collaboration, and communication all flow through this platform every single day. But here is the uncomfortable truth about Microsoft 365 security for small businesses in Reading PA: the default settings in your account are leaving the door wide open for cybercriminals.
Over 400 million users rely on Microsoft 365 worldwide, making it the single largest target for hackers looking for easy prey. And according to CISA, users who enable multi-factor authentication are 99% less likely to be hacked. Yet nearly two-thirds of small and medium-sized businesses globally don’t use MFA at all.
The hackers know this. They’re counting on it.
Why Microsoft 365 Is a Massive Target Right Now
If you think your business is too small to be targeted, think again. Cybercriminals have shifted their focus specifically toward small and medium-sized businesses because they know the security gaps exist.
Microsoft appeared in more phishing scams than any other brand in late 2024, accounting for 35% of all brand impersonation attacks. Cybercriminals are not randomly targeting businesses. They’re systematically exploiting the platform that stores your most sensitive data.
According to the Microsoft Digital Defense Report, 97% of identity attacks are password spray attacks. These attacks work by trying common passwords against thousands of accounts simultaneously. Hackers use automated tools to test millions of username and password combinations in minutes. They’re not sophisticated nation-state actors using complex techniques. They’re opportunistic criminals who know that most small businesses in the Lehigh Valley and Greater Philadelphia area have not properly configured their security settings.
The protections exist, but someone has to turn them on.
The 7 Dangerous Settings Putting Your Business at Risk
1. Multi-Factor Authentication Is Not Enabled for All Users
This is the single most critical security gap in small business Microsoft 365 environments. According to CISA, MFA can block 99% of identity-based attacks. Yet the Cyber Readiness Institute found that 65% of global SMBs don’t use MFA and have no plans to implement it.
Even more concerning, smaller businesses with 25 or fewer employees have MFA adoption rates of just 27%. This means nearly three out of four small businesses are protected by nothing more than a password.
The fix takes about 15 minutes. Security Defaults in Microsoft Entra ID will automatically require MFA for all users, and it costs nothing extra with your existing Microsoft 365 subscription. This single step is the foundation of Microsoft 365 security for small businesses in Reading PA.
2. Legacy Authentication Protocols Are Still Enabled
Legacy authentication refers to older protocols like POP3, IMAP, and SMTP that don’t support modern security features like MFA. When these protocols are enabled, attackers can bypass your multi-factor authentication entirely.
Think of it this way: you installed a state-of-the-art security system on your front door, but left the back door propped open with a brick. Legacy authentication is that back door.
Microsoft has been pushing to disable these protocols, but many small businesses still have them enabled for compatibility with older devices or applications. The problem is that compatibility comes at the cost of your security.
3. External Sharing Settings Are Too Permissive
SharePoint and OneDrive make collaboration easy. Too easy, in some cases. Default sharing settings often allow anyone with a link to access your files, which means a single forwarded email can expose sensitive business documents to the entire internet.
For businesses handling client data in professional services, healthcare, or financial sectors across Eastern PA, this represents a serious compliance risk in addition to the security exposure.
The warning signs your settings are too permissive include:
- Files shared with “Anyone with the link” instead of specific people
- No expiration dates on shared links
- External users having edit permissions instead of view-only access
- No audit trail of who accessed shared documents
4. Admin Accounts Are Being Used for Daily Work
Every Microsoft 365 tenant has Global Administrator accounts with complete control over the environment. These accounts can change security settings, access user data, create new accounts, and do essentially anything within your tenant. Protecting these accounts is critical to Microsoft 365 security for small businesses in Reading PA.
When someone uses a Global Admin account to check email, browse the web, or sign into enterprise applications, they dramatically increase the risk of compromise. A single successful phishing attack against that account gives hackers the keys to your entire kingdom.
Best practice limits Global Admin accounts to two to four users maximum, with dedicated admin accounts that are never used for routine work.
5. Email Authentication Records Are Not Configured
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are email authentication protocols that prevent hackers from sending spoofed emails that appear to come from your domain. Without these properly configured, attackers can send emails that look like they came from your CEO, your accounting department, or your IT team.
Microsoft Threat Intelligence recently warned of a surge in phishing attacks exploiting misconfigured email routing settings. In October 2025 alone, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 blocked more than 13 million malicious emails linked to a single phishing-as-a-service platform targeting these misconfigurations.
The technical components you need configured include:
- SPF records that specify which servers can send email for your domain
- DKIM keys that cryptographically sign outgoing emails
- DMARC policies that tell receiving servers what to do with failed authentication
6. Audit Logging Is Disabled or Ignored
You can’t protect what you can’t see. Microsoft 365 includes comprehensive audit logging capabilities, but many businesses either have them disabled or never review the logs.
When a breach occurs, these logs are critical for understanding what happened, what data was accessed, and how the attackers got in. Without them, you are flying blind during incident response and may not even realize you have been compromised until the damage is done.
Microsoft 365 security for small businesses in Reading PA requires ongoing vigilance, not just initial configuration. Audit logs should be reviewed regularly for suspicious activity like failed login attempts, permission changes, and unusual file access patterns.
7. Conditional Access Policies Are Not Implemented
Conditional Access allows you to create rules that control how and when users can access your Microsoft 365 resources. For example, you can require MFA when users log in from unfamiliar locations, block access from countries where you don’t do business, or require compliant devices for access to sensitive data.
Without Conditional Access, your security posture is one-dimensional. You are relying entirely on passwords and MFA without any context about the risk level of each login attempt. A login from your office in Reading is treated the same as a login attempt from the other side of the world at 3 AM. That lack of intelligence leaves your business exposed to attacks that smarter policies would block automatically.
The Real Cost of Ignoring These Settings
The consequences of misconfigured Microsoft 365 security extend far beyond the immediate breach. For SMBs, the financial and operational costs of a data breach can be business-ending.
Beyond the direct financial impact, consider the operational disruption. A compromised Microsoft 365 tenant can halt business operations entirely. You may lose access to:
- All email communications
- Critical business documents
- Collaboration tools your team depends on
- Client records and project files
Recovery can take days or weeks, especially if incident response protocols aren’t already in place. The lost productivity and IT remediation costs compound quickly.
Then there’s the reputational damage. Clients, vendors, and partners trust you to protect their data. A breach that exposes their information destroys that trust instantly and can take years to rebuild. This is why Microsoft 365 security for small businesses in Reading PA isn’t just an IT issue but a business survival issue.
Why Small Businesses Are Prime Targets
According to industry research, small businesses with fewer than 250 employees face the highest rate of targeted malicious emails. One in every 323 emails sent to these businesses is malicious. Small businesses are also 350% more likely to be targeted by cybercriminals than large enterprises.
The reason is simple: attackers know that small businesses typically have limited IT resources, outdated security configurations, and employees who haven’t received adequate security training. The return on investment for attacking a small business is often better than attacking a large enterprise with dedicated security teams.
For businesses in the Lehigh Valley and Greater Philadelphia area, this creates a dangerous combination. You have valuable data that attackers want, but you may not have the security infrastructure that larger competitors possess.
What You Should Do Right Now
Securing your Microsoft 365 environment doesn’t require an enterprise budget or a dedicated security team. Start with these immediate actions:
- Enable Security Defaults in Microsoft Entra ID today
- Audit your current MFA enrollment and enforce it for all users
- Disable legacy authentication protocols
- Review and restrict external sharing settings
- Verify that SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are properly configured
- Enable and regularly review audit logs
Microsoft 365 security for small businesses in Reading PA is not optional in today’s threat environment. The attacks are increasing in volume and sophistication, and the default settings are simply not sufficient to protect your business.
The Difference Between Hoping and Knowing
Most business owners hope their IT is secure. They assume that because they’re using a major platform like Microsoft 365, the security is handled automatically. This assumption is exactly what attackers count on.
The difference between hoping your business is protected and knowing it’s protected comes down to whether someone has actually verified and configured these seven critical settings. If you can’t answer yes to all seven with confidence, your business is exposed.
The good news is that these issues are fixable. Microsoft includes the tools you need to secure your environment. They just require someone with the expertise to configure them properly and the ongoing attention to maintain them.
Your competitors in Eastern PA who take Microsoft 365 security seriously will survive and thrive. Those who ignore it will continue to be easy targets. The choice is yours, and the time to act is now before the next attack makes the decision for you.
Sources:
- CISA. “Multifactor Authentication.” U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
- Cyber Readiness Institute. “New Study Underscores Slow Adoption of Multifactor Authentication By Global SMBs.” November 2024.
- JumpCloud. “Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Statistics & Trends to Know.” April 2025.
- Microsoft. “Phishing actors exploit complex routing and misconfigurations to spoof domains.” Microsoft Security Blog. January 2026.
- Microsoft. “Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2025.”
- The Hacker News. “A Hacker’s Era: Why Microsoft 365 Protection Reigns Supreme.” September 2024.
- Guardian Digital. “Defending Microsoft 365 from Phishing Attacks: Key Strategies.”
- GetAstra. “Small Business Cyber Attack Statistics 2026.”