Introduction

Microsoft Teams has become an indispensable tool for modern businesses, enabling seamless communication and collaboration among team members. However, as organisations increasingly collaborate with external partners, the need to control external sharing policies within Teams has become paramount. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore how IT professionals can effectively manage external sharing policies across Teams sites to enhance security and collaboration.

Understanding External Sharing Policies

External sharing policies in Microsoft Teams dictate how users within an organisation can share content and collaborate with external parties. By defining these policies, IT administrators can control the level of access that external users have to Teams sites, channels, files, and conversations. This ensures that sensitive information is protected while enabling secure collaboration with external partners.

Best Practices for Managing External Sharing Policies

• Define Clear Sharing Guidelines: Establish clear guidelines for external sharing within your organisation. Determine which Teams sites and channels are suitable for external collaboration and communicate these guidelines to all users.
• Use Azure AD Conditional Access: Leverage Azure AD Conditional Access policies to restrict external sharing based on specific conditions such as user location, device compliance, or risk level. This helps prevent unauthorised access to sensitive data.
• Monitor External Sharing Activity: Regularly monitor external sharing activity within Teams to identify any unusual or suspicious behaviour. Set up alerts for unusual sharing patterns or access attempts to proactively address potential security threats.
• Implement Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Policies: Configure DLP policies in Microsoft Teams to prevent the accidental sharing of sensitive information with external parties. Define rules that automatically block sharing of confidential data or trigger alerts for policy violations.

Controlling External Sharing Policies Across Teams Sites

When it comes to controlling external sharing policies across Teams sites, IT professionals have several options at their disposal. These include:

• Global Sharing Settings: Configure global sharing settings in the Microsoft 365 admin centre to define the default external sharing behaviour for all Teams sites within your organisation. Specify whether external users can access Teams sites and channels, share files, or participate in conversations.
• Site-level Sharing Controls: Adjust external sharing settings at the site level to customise sharing permissions for specific Teams sites. IT administrators can restrict external sharing on a site-by-site basis, allowing greater control over sensitive information.
• Channel-level Permissions: Manage external sharing policies at the channel level to control access to specific channels within Teams sites. Limit external user participation in certain channels or restrict file sharing to maintain data security.
• Guest Access Management: Monitor and manage guest access within Teams to ensure that external users adhere to your organisation’s sharing policies. Review and revoke guest access permissions for users who no longer require access to Teams sites.

Conclusion

Effectively controlling external sharing policies across Teams sites is essential for maintaining data security and fostering collaboration with external partners. By following best practices, defining clear guidelines, and leveraging the built-in security features of Microsoft Teams, IT professionals can create a secure and collaborative environment for their organisation. Stay proactive, stay vigilant, and stay in control of your external sharing policies to safeguard your organisation’s sensitive information.

DrayTek Vigor 2962 2.5Gb Ethernet Dual-WAN Broadband Firewall Router, 200 VPN Tunnels, 20 VLANS, QOS, Remote Management, Load Balancing

High Performance Multi-WAN Router - The Vigor 2962 makes full use of FTTP Fibre Broadband at up to 2.2Gbps throughput for single or multi-WAN configurations. With Quality of Service, Firewall and Content Filtering.

Buy Now on Amazon

NETGEAR Orbi Mesh WiFi 6 System (RBK763S) , Mesh Router & 2 Extenders , Cover Every Room, Up To 6,000 Sq Ft , Improve WiFi Speeds up to 5.4 Gbps & 75 devices , Simple App Set Up

WiFI mesh coverage of up to 6,000 sq ft and up to 75 devices, With each satellite (sold separately) you can extend the range by up to 2,000 sq ft

Buy Now on Amazon

DrayTek Vigor 2865Lax-5G Ethernet Router, WiFi 6 AX3000 Wireless and 5G Failover, Integrated 5G Modem, 5+1 GbE LAN Ports with VLANs, VDSL

VDSL and Ethernet Load Balancer - Connect the Vigor 2865 to Superfast Fibre with the integrated VDSL modem. Use the Ethernet WAN with Cable and Ultrafast FTTP. Load Balance multiple connections to boost performance.

Buy Now on Amazon

TP-Link Archer BE550 Router WiFi 7 BE9300Mbps, Tri-Band WiFi Router, 2.5G Ports,USB Port,Maximized Coverage,VPN Router, Parental Control, HomeShield Security, Private IoT Network,Easy Setup,EasyMesh

Wi-Fi 7 Routers: With powerful Wi-Fi 7 performance, lightning-fast wired connections, and brand-new design

Buy Now on Amazon

QNAP TS-253A-4G 2 Bay NAS Enclosure with 4GB RAM - Black (GDPR Compliant)

NAS and iSCSI-SAN unified storage solution for server virtualization

Buy Now on Amazon

WD 16TB My Cloud EX2 Ultra 2-bay NAS - Network Attached Storage RAID, file sync, streaming, media server, with WD Red drives

Centralised network storage: Organise your entire media collection, photos and files in one central, network location

Buy Now on Amazon

Synology DX517 5 Bay Desktop Network Attached Storage Expansion Enclosure, Black

Online volume expansion

Buy Now on Amazon

QNAP TS-431XeU-8G 4 Bay Short-depth Rackmount NAS Enclosure with 10GbE SFP+ & 8GB RAM

The short depth design is suitable for installing in smaller racks or space-constrained locations

Buy Now on Amazon

Seagate 10 TB IronWolf NAS 3.5 Inch Hard Drive ST10000VN0008 (SATA 6 Gb/s/256 MB/7200 RPM)

Model Number: ST10000VN0008

Buy Now on Amazon

QNAP TS-673A-8G 6 Bay Desktop NAS Enclosure - 8GB RAM, AMD Ryzen Quad-core 2.2 GHz Processor - with 2.5GbE connectivity & supporting PCIe expansion

8GB DDR4 RAM (2 x SODIMM slots, max. 64GB, optional ECC RAM support)

Buy Now on Amazon

Synology DS1621+ 48TB 6 Bay Desktop NAS Solution, installed with 6 x 8TB Western Digital Red Plus Drives

Accelerated Performance: 174% higher 4K random read IOPS and 76% faster sequential write speeds compared to its predecessor

Buy Now on Amazon

Synology DS1823xs+ 8 Bay NAS Desktop: High-Performance Storage Solution

Powerful Performance - Over 3,100/2,600 MB/s sequential read/write throughput and over 173,100/80,800 random read/write IOPS2 support heavier applications

Buy Now on Amazon