What is Microsoft Secure Score?
In a digital-first business, it’s impossible to build effective cybersecurity if we don’t first understand how strong and exposed the current security really is. Knowing security posture means knowing where we are vulnerable, how prepared we are, and where to invest next.
In this context, a measurable “security score” like Microsoft Secure Score gives leaders a simple, actionable way to assess their posture, close gaps, and track progress over time.
What is Microsoft Secure Score?
Microsoft Secure Score is a built-in capability in Microsoft 365 that measures how strong an organization's security posture is. It looks at how current settings and practices align with Microsoft’s recommended best practices, then turns that into a single, easy-to-track score. At the same time, it highlights concrete actions leaders can take to strengthen protection across Microsoft 365 services.
How Does It Work?
Microsoft Secure Score and its recommendations are surfaced directly in the Microsoft 365 Defender portal. The model is based on a points system, where organizations earn points for implementing defined security actions, including “Configuring recommended security features”, “Doing security-related tasks”, and “Addressing the recommended action with a non-Microsoft application or software, or an alternate mitigation”.
Some recommendations only contribute points when they are fully completed, while others allow partial credit when the action has been applied to a subset of devices or users. Where a particular recommendation cannot or should not be implemented, the residual risk can be explicitly accepted, rather than remediated. Each action carries a value of up to 10 points.
As more recommended actions are implemented, the organization's Secure Score increases. Scoring is dynamic and typically updates within about 24 hours of relevant activity. A higher score indicates that the organization has acted on Microsoft’s recommendations and, in doing so, has improved its overall security posture and reduced or offset specific risks.
The Main Functions
Microsoft Secure Score offers a set of capabilities that help organizations understand and strengthen their security posture. The result is expressed as a percentage-based score, prominently displayed within the Microsoft 365 Defender dashboard.
The “Include” drop-down next to the score can display a projected Secure Score that reflects actions the organization intends to complete. This forecasted value supports clearer progress tracking and makes it easier to communicate anticipated security improvements in reports.
The “Achievable score” shows the maximum Secure Score attainable when certain recommended actions are intentionally not implemented, and the associated risks are formally accepted. Over time, a trend line of these accepted risks is displayed in the Metrics & Trends section, giving visibility into how risk appetite affects overall posture.
The comparison bar chart appears on the Overview tab, where it visualizes the current score alongside available improvement potential. By hovering over each bar, detailed values for the score and the remaining score opportunity can be seen.
On the Metrics & Trends tab, the organization's Secure Score can be viewed in a time-based context, compared against that of similar tenants. This perspective shows how security posture is evolving relative to peers.
What Benefits Can Microsoft Secure Score Bring to Businesses
Strengthen the organization's security posture
Microsoft Secure Score provides clear visibility into the current state of security. By acting on its threat-prioritized insights and recommendations, organizations can make measurable improvements to both their score and their underlying resilience against attacks.
Simplify and organize the security program
Secure Score helps streamline security efforts by presenting a single, structured view of what needs attention most. It can be used to unify security capabilities and guide an AI-driven and ML-driven program across networks, endpoints, applications, users, and data.
Enhance standing with cyber insurers
Cyber insurers increasingly rely on objective indicators of security maturity when shaping coverage and pricing. Because Secure Score quantifies posture in a consistent way, it has been adopted as a pre-vetting tool, making it easier for organizations to demonstrate due diligence and potentially secure more favorable terms.
Tackle the most critical risks first
Recommendations in Secure Score are structured to address the most impactful threats and weaknesses first. When combined with Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management , it helps IT and security teams target remediation and proactive configuration where it will most effectively reduce risk, across both potential and existing vulnerabilities.
Get more value from your cybersecurity budget
By clarifying which controls are missing, underused, or redundant, Secure Score helps avoid unnecessary spending and tool overlap. Working with an MSSP or trusted partner, organizations can use it to prioritize high-value improvements, strengthening controls and user protection without proportionally increasing the overall security budget.
Strengthen organizations' security and shrink attack surface
With tailored guidance, Microsoft Secure Score delivers recommended best practices and threat-prioritized insights for businesses. It turns a complex security landscape into a practical set of actions that can be followed step by step to improve protection.
The score also acts as a benchmark. It allows security leaders to track how their posture evolves over time and see how they compare with peers in the same industry. Recommendations are tuned to each organization's specific threat landscape, risk appetite, IT environment, and the Microsoft products in use.
By following these recommendations, organizations can:
- Understand the current state of security across the whole digital estate
- Put stronger controls in place to reach and maintain a desired security level
- Identify and prioritize likely attack paths and build realistic mitigation plans
- Stay ahead of threats such as malware and MFA bombing attacks
- Keep the “back door” closed across Microsoft 365 services
- Assess whether third-party solutions have effectively covered recommended actions and closed potential gaps
Understanding Risk in Secure Score
Microsoft Secure Score provides a numeric snapshot of an organization's security posture, based on configurations, user behavior, and other security-related signals. It does not predict the likelihood of a breach; instead, it reflects how extensively available security controls in the Microsoft environment have been put in place to help offset risk. No online service is completely immune to attacks, and Secure Score should never be viewed as a guarantee against breaches.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Getting more information in the fast-moving technology world today. Let’s see if Microsoft Secure Score, Defender, and modern security best practices can reduce risk, support compliance, and optimize your security investments.
Talk to our security expert at par.johansson@preciofishbone.se to explore how you can assess your current environment, identify quick wins, and design a tailored roadmap.
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