"Microsoft Teams: A Channel for Sensitive Business Information Sharing That Needs Better Backup"
Hornetsecurity discovered an urgent need for increased backup for Microsoft Teams, with 45 percent of users often sending confidential and critical information via the platform. According to research commissioned by the company, the often-overlooked need for Teams backup and security is increasing as internal business communications via chat reach the same levels as communication via email. For 90 percent of respondents, Teams User Chat (direct) messaging is the preferred form of business communication over Teams Channel Conversations, and more than 41 percent send at least 10 User Chat messages daily. About 26 percent of all messages are written in Teams Group Channel Conversations, indicating that communication is distributed unevenly across the platform. Of the respondents, 45 percent use Teams to share confidential and sensitive information, and 51 percent use it to send business-critical documents and data. Users are more likely to send such information when using personal devices. Of those who use personal devices, 51 percent send restricted and confidential data, compared to 29 percent of those using work devices. According to the survey, 48 percent of all respondents sent messages on Teams that they should not have. Of this group, 88 percent had been trained in the use of collaboration solutions, thus emphasizing the need for additional and better training on how to use Teams and the risks of sending sensitive data. This article continues to discuss key findings shared by Hornetsecurity that call on organizations to improve Microsoft Teams backup, security, and training.