New product offering supported by first-of-its-kind research highlighting a looming disconnect between collaboration security posture and organizational confidence

Mimecast Limited , an advanced email and collaboration security company, today announced an August 2023 release of Protection for Microsoft Teams for its Email Security Cloud Integrated customers, enabling them to Work Protected™ across the hybrid attack surface. Security solutions for additional collaboration channels, such as Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft OneDrive, Slack^®, and Google Workspace™ will follow.

The announcement coincides with the release of Mimecast’s latest research, Collaboration Security: Risks and Realities of the Modern Work Surface. The first-of-its-kind report revealed a disconnect between cybersecurity leadership and employees related to collaboration security posture. While nearly 75% percent of cybersecurity leaders believe their organizations are prepared to defend against collaboration tool attacks, nine in 10 respondents were victims of a breach stemming from these applications over the past year.

“The modern workplace has experienced explosive change in a short period of time. Adoption of Microsoft Teams has never been higher due to hybrid work, making collaboration tools essential to productivity,” said David Raissipour, Mimecast Chief Technology and Product Officer. “But cybercriminals know this and are increasingly seeking to exploit this tool, which is often under-protected or unprotected all together. Leveraging Mimecast’s 20 years of experience and innovation in securing email communications, Protection for Microsoft Teams is designed to ensure that Microsoft 365 remains a productivity tool rather than a security risk.”

Dichotomy Between Cybersecurity Leaders and Employees in use of Collaboration Tools

While the cybersecurity leaders surveyed in the Mimecast research report claimed their organizations offer some form of cybersecurity training for collaboration tools, 38% of employees stated they have not received any training related to this technology.

The research found that one in five employees don’t usually check the spelling or legitimacy of an attachment file name or URL before responding to a private message on business collaboration tools. Additionally, 30% of employees do not see cybersecurity breaches on collaboration tools as something for which they are directly responsible.

Mitigating Cyber Risk: The Latest Frontier

Collaboration tool suites such as Microsoft 365, Slack, and Google Workspace often sit unprotected within an organization, increasing exposure and vulnerability to attacks. Protection for Microsoft Teams is fully integrated with Mimecast Email Security Cloud Integrated, and extends Mimecast’s world-class email protections to URLs and files shared via Microsoft Teams. The tool enables organizations to:

• Extend best-in-class email security protections to files and URLs shared in Microsoft Teams
• Help block viruses, malware, and phishing attempts
• Get comprehensive protection for email and Microsoft Teams from a single platform
• Reduce the security risk of using Microsoft Teams to collaborate with third parties
• Help educate employees with end-user notifications about blocked content

Qualified new customers in the US and UK can register for a 30-day free trial of the full Email Security, Cloud Integrated suite, which will include Email Security and Protection for Microsoft Teams and Sync & Recover, once made generally available, alongside Awareness Training. Protection for Microsoft Teams will be generally available to new customers in the United States and United Kingdom in early August.