in Blog, OfficeExpert, Products

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Apps from the MS Teams App Store are a popular way bring non-native tools to the MS Teams ecosystem. Their use is a trend that is likely to grow in the future. In addition to the official apps, there are others developed officially for company use or individually for personal use.

All of these apps present potential security risks, making app management an important task for IT Admins.

Security risks and data leakage through apps

Like most of us, Team owners generally accept app Terms & Conditions without reading them. If the app needs to process data outside of MS Teams then this has an impact in terms of security and data leakage. Microsoft offers tools to restrict app usage. But, blanket policies could deny access to valuable tools.

Ideally you could identify the 3rd party apps that send out confidential data, creating a leakage risk.

Keep track of your app situation

Given the potential risks, proper app analysis and reporting is essential for IT Admins and Security specialist. A good report would reveal the apps being used, the Teams that are using them, and the potential risk they create.

One question you should be asking yourself is:

Are my app security policies really active?

Figure 1 depicts scenario using global figures. It’s easy to see the most commonly used apps being used across all Teams. If an application is used by a lot of different Teams, it probably brings value to your organization. Clearly, you’ll want to think twice before banning it.

Non-native apps can bring positive benefits to your organization, but their potential risk must be balanced against their rewards. Fact-based, analysis and reporting are the best possible method to make the decisions you need that achieve a good balance.

Let OfficeExpert’s Teams Analytics module reveal your app landscape, start your Trial today!

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