Enhancing your Office 365 Security with Config Export
In today’s rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape, ensuring the security of your Office 365 environment is more critical than ever.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (formerly Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection) is a powerful tool designed to protect your organization from sophisticated threats such as phishing, malware, and business email compromise (BEC). However, even the most robust security solutions require proper configuration to deliver optimal protection. This is where the Export Configuration Analyzer Report (ORCA) comes into play.
What is ORCA?
ORCA is an open-source PowerShell script developed by Cam Murray, available on GitHub (ORCA GitHub Repository).
It is designed to analyze the configuration of your Microsoft Defender for Office 365 environment and generate a detailed report highlighting areas for improvement. The tool evaluates various aspects of your configuration, including:
Configuration Health Index
Configuration in EOP which can impact MDO
Anti-phishing and Anti-malware policies.
Safe Links and Safe Attachments configurations
Spam filter settings
Transport rules
and more …
Why Use ORCA?
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a feature-rich platform, but its effectiveness depends on how well it is configured. Misconfigurations or suboptimal settings can leave your organization vulnerable to attacks. ORCA addresses this challenge by offering the following benefits:
1. Proactive Security Assessment
ORCA enables you to proactively assess your Defender for Office 365 configuration, ensuring that your security settings align with Microsoft’s recommended best practices. By identifying and addressing issues before they are exploited, you can significantly reduce your risk exposure.
2. Actionable Insights
The report suggests improvements tailored to your tenant’s environment. It highlights specific areas that require attention, such as outdated policies, missing protections, or overly permissive settings. This allows you to prioritize and remediate issues efficiently.
3. Improved Compliance
Many organizations must adhere to regulatory requirements and industry standards, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or ISO 27001. ORCA helps you ensure that your Defender for Office 365 configuration meets these compliance requirements by identifying non compliant settings.
4. Improved Security Posture
By following the report’s guidance, organizations can ensure that Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is operating at its full potential.
How to Run ORCA in Your Environment
Running ORCA is a straightforward process. Here’s a step-by-step guide to get started:
1. Connect to Exchange Online:
Open PowerShell and connect to your Exchange Online environment:
Install-Module -Name ExchangeOnlineManagement -Scope:CurrentUser
2. Install ORCA module:
You can install it via the PowerShell gallery:
Install-Module ORCA
3. Get the Report:
Run this command to get a report detailing the recommendations in your default browser:
Get-ORCAReport
Permissions:
You must have the necessary permissions to access and analyze your Office 365 tenant’s security settings e.g. Global Reader
Notes:
The default output format is HTML. If you need a different format, follow these instructions:
To specify an alternative output module, use the Invoke-ORCA command instead of Get-ORCAReport.
-
Output to JSON:
Invoke-ORCA -Output JSON
-
Output to CSV:
This generates two CSV files—one for an overview and another with detailed information on each configuration item.
Invoke-ORCA -Output CSV
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