Varonis and Microsoft Partner to Secure AI-Powered Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption

In a significant move to bolster data security in the era of artificial intelligence (AI), Varonis Systems has partnered with Microsoft to enhance the secure adoption of Microsoft 365 Copilot. This collaboration aims to provide organizations with the tools necessary to safely implement AI-driven productivity solutions while maintaining stringent data protection standards.

The Strategic Collaboration​

Varonis Systems, a leader in data security, announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft to assist companies in securely leveraging AI technologies. This integration focuses on continuously assessing and improving the data security posture of Microsoft 365 environments before, during, and after the deployment of Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365. (globenewswire.com)
David Bass, Varonis' Executive Vice President of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer, emphasized the importance of this initiative:

"IT and security teams want to ensure that excessive permissions, collaboration links, and mislabeled files won't lead to unintentional data exposure when they deploy Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365. Varonis takes that concern off the table so users can enjoy the power of Microsoft's AI immediately." (globenewswire.com)

Anat Gil, Partners Lead at Microsoft South-East Europe, highlighted the added value of this integration:

"Varonis' integration gives customers the added security and compliance controls necessary to quickly and confidently adopt Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365." (globenewswire.com)

Key Features of the Integration​

The partnership introduces several critical features designed to enhance data security in AI adoption:

• Copilot Posture Dashboards: These provide real-time insights into sensitive and regulated data exposed to Copilot users, analyze usage trends, and track AI-accessed data. (globenewswire.com)
• Copilot Policy Automation: This feature enforces security policies to continuously limit Copilot's access to sensitive information, preventing accidental data leakage. It also automatically applies sensitivity labels to data created by Copilot. (globenewswire.com)
• Copilot Monitoring and Forensics: Varonis collects and enriches Copilot events, enabling organizations to answer questions such as, "Which users accessed sensitive financial data via Copilot this week?" (globenewswire.com)
• Copilot Threat Detection: The user behavior analysis engine factors in Copilot activity and notifies customers of abnormal or suspicious interactions with sensitive data. (globenewswire.com)
• Athena AI Integration: This integration allows for natural language investigations and resolution of Copilot-related security incidents, enhancing the efficiency of security teams. (globenewswire.com)

Addressing Data Security Challenges​

The integration addresses several common data security challenges associated with AI adoption:

• Sensitive Data Exposure: By identifying shared links and excessive permissions, Varonis helps organizations automatically correct org-wide permissions and delete stale users, thereby reducing the risk of data exposure. (varonis.com)
• Microsoft Teams Sprawl: Dynamic dashboards visualize the impact of Teams collaboration, allowing organizations to pinpoint and remediate stale, risky, or excessive access. (varonis.com)
• Exposed Mailboxes and Calendars: The integration identifies mailboxes exposed to guest and external users, non-mailbox owners, or delegates, enabling organizations to right-size access to sensitive mailboxes and calendars. (varonis.com)

Enhancing AI Security Posture​

Varonis' AI Security solutions provide comprehensive visibility and control over AI tools and workloads, ensuring that organizations can deploy AI securely without leaking sensitive information. Key aspects include:

• Control Over AI Access: Visualizing AI's sensitive data access, revoking excessive permissions, and fixing risky AI misconfigurations. (varonis.com)
• Monitoring AI-Created Data: Classifying AI-generated content, applying sensitivity labels, and monitoring prompts to alert on suspicious activity. (varonis.com)
• Preventing Sensitive Data Exposure to LLMs: Discovering hidden AI workloads, identifying sensitive data flows, and mapping AI accounts with access to sensitive data. (varonis.com)

Conclusion​

The partnership between Varonis Systems and Microsoft marks a significant advancement in securing AI adoption within enterprise environments. By integrating Varonis' robust data security platform with Microsoft's AI capabilities, organizations can confidently deploy AI tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot, knowing that their sensitive data remains protected. This collaboration not only enhances productivity through AI but also ensures compliance and security in an increasingly data-driven world.

---

Source: Quiver Quantitative https://www.quiverquant.com/news/Varonis+Systems+Partners+with+Microsoft+to+Enhance+Data+Security+for+AI+Adoption/