The update
Microsoft is updating file sharing and access control within Teams. This is being done to provide an experience similar to other Microsoft 365 apps. This update will introduce access control when creating sharing links from within Teams (on the desktop and web applications). Sharing links will be configurable to provide access to:
- anyone
- people with existing access
- people within your organization
- specific people, including those in a 1:1 chat, group chat, or channels.
The benefits
This will provide a consistent experience across the Microsoft suite, and make sharing content with appropriate contacts a seamless and simple affair. This is part of a series of changes Microsoft has been making in order to improve Teams’ functionality – with 173 changes in development, and 31 features rolling out.
See Microsoft’s roadmap here.
The risks
Teams will honour the sharing controls defined in SharePoint. If external sharing is allowed within your organisation’s SharePoint environment, the same will be true within Teams once this update has occurred. It is important to review your SharePoint file sharing options within your SharePoint admin portal to ensure you are aware of your sharing settings and can ensure they align with your tenant requirements.
Additionally, if external sharing is enabled, it is important to prompt individuals to carefully consider what content they share externally. Employees should be reminded of how and when to use sensitivity labels (if this is supported by your 365 plan) to ensure greater security; this should facilitate collaboration that is as secure as possible. This may come in the form of training for 365 end users, helping them understand where potential risks may lie.
If you have any questions regarding this upcoming Teams update or surrounding secure cloud collaboration, please fill in the form below or call us on 0191 4770365.
