Assess and harden Microsoft 365 against CIS Benchmark guidance with a prioritised remediation backlog and evidence-ready reporting.
The CIS Microsoft 365 Benchmark provides prescriptive secure configuration guidance for Microsoft 365 based on a community consensus process. It is commonly used as a baseline for improving security posture and demonstrating alignment to recognised configuration best practices.
LW IT Solutions delivers a practical CIS benchmark assessment that produces outcomes you can implement. We assess configuration posture across the in-scope Microsoft 365 services, triage findings for relevance and business impact, and translate them into a prioritised remediation backlog. Where you want hands-on delivery, we implement staged improvements with change control - and provide an evidence pack so progress is defensible for audits, customer assurance, or internal governance.
Talk through your requirements and leave with a clear next-step plan.
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Service Overview
Highlights
- Aligned to the CIS Microsoft 365 Foundations Benchmark
- Focused on real-world tenant configuration and constraints
- Risk-based prioritisation instead of blanket control adoption
- Designed to minimise user and service disruption
- Outputs suitable for audit, assurance, and internal governance
Business Benefits
- Clear view of Microsoft 365 security posture measured against CIS benchmark guidance
- Reduced risk through prioritised configuration improvements with known impact
- Actionable remediation backlog rather than a theoretical assessment report
- Improved audit and assurance readiness with evidence-backed outputs
- Greater confidence for security and IT teams when making configuration changes
Typical use cases
- Preparing for security audits or customer assurance reviews
- Improving Microsoft 365 security posture after rapid tenant growth
- Validating existing security baselines against recognised benchmarks
- Reducing configuration drift across Microsoft 365 services
- Building a structured roadmap for Microsoft 365 hardening
Objectives & deliverables
What Success Looks Like
- Baseline Microsoft 365 configuration against CIS benchmark guidance
- Identify configuration gaps that materially increase security risk
- Translate benchmark recommendations into practical remediation actions
- Support safe, staged hardening without breaking productivity
- Provide defensible evidence for ongoing security governance
What You Get
- CIS-aligned Microsoft 365 assessment summary with defined scope and assumptions
- Detailed findings mapped to CIS benchmark recommendation areas
- Prioritised remediation backlog with risk, impact, and dependency notes
- Decision log covering accepted, deferred, or excluded recommendations
- Optional remediation evidence pack for implemented changes
How It Works
- Discover and scope - confirm tenant architecture, in-scope services, constraints, and success criteria.
- Assess - capture current configuration posture aligned to the CIS benchmark categories and your environment.
- Triage and prioritise - validate findings for applicability and business impact; create a prioritised backlog.
- Remediate (optional) - implement quick wins and staged changes with change control, pilots, and validation.
- Evidence and handover - deliver the evidence pack, decision logs, and a cadence for continued alignment.
Engagement Options
- Assessment Only - CIS-aligned review with prioritised remediation backlog
- Assessment + Quick Wins - Review plus low-risk configuration improvements
- Assessment + Staged Remediation - Assessment followed by phased implementation
Common Bundles
Customers who use this service often bundle with these services
Secure Score Assessment & Remediation
Baseline Microsoft Secure Score, prioritise improvement actions, and deliver a staged remediation backlog that drives measurable security posture uplift.
Zero Trust Architecture & Hardening
Design and implement a Microsoft aligned Zero Trust programme covering identity, devices, least privilege access, segmentation, and continuous monitoring.
Defender for Endpoint (EDR)
Deploy and operationalise Defender for Endpoint with phased onboarding, tuned policies, and clear triage workflows across managed device estates.
Microsoft 365 E3 + Microsoft Purview Suite Enablement
Enable Microsoft Purview Suite with Microsoft 365 E3 through scoped discovery, configuration, validation, and handover that embeds compliance controls into operations.
Microsoft Purview E5 eDiscovery & Audit Add-on Enablement
Enable Microsoft Purview eDiscovery Premium and Audit Premium add-ons with configured policies, case processes, roles and operational runbooks.
Microsoft Purview E5 Insider Risk Add-on Enablement
Enable Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management add-on with policy design, privacy controls, reviewer workflows and reporting for compliant operations.
Business Premium + Microsoft Purview Suite Add-on Enablement
Enable Microsoft Purview Suite add-on for Business Premium with phased configuration of DLP, insider risk, audit, and eDiscovery.
Frequently Asked Questions
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