Office 365 mailbox auditing

Office 365 mailbox auditing is a feature that allows administrators to track and monitor user activity within their organization's Office 365 mailboxes. This feature provides visibility into mailbox activities, such as who accessed a mailbox, what actions were taken, and when they were taken. Here are some key aspects of Office 365 mailbox auditing:

What is audited:

• Logon and logoff events
• Mailbox access (e.g., who accessed a mailbox, when, and from where)
• Mailbox searches (e.g., who searched a mailbox, what was searched, and when)
• Mailbox deletions (e.g., who deleted a mailbox, what was deleted, and when)
• Mailbox modifications (e.g., who modified a mailbox, what was modified, and when)
• Email messages (e.g., who sent, received, or forwarded an email, when, and from where)

Auditing settings:

• Auditing can be enabled or disabled for individual mailboxes or entire organizations.
• Auditing settings can be configured to capture specific events or all events.
• Auditing settings can be configured to capture events for specific users, groups, or roles.

Auditing data:

• Auditing data is stored in the Office 365 Security & Compliance Center.
• Auditing data is retained for 30 days by default, but this retention period can be extended or shortened as needed.
• Auditing data can be exported to CSV files for further analysis or reporting.

Benefits:

• Improved security and compliance: Auditing provides visibility into mailbox activities, helping to detect and prevent unauthorized access or malicious activities.
• Enhanced monitoring and reporting: Auditing provides detailed logs of mailbox activities, making it easier to monitor and report on user activity.
• Compliance with regulations: Auditing helps organizations comply with regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS, which require logging and monitoring of user activity.

How to enable auditing:

1. Sign in to the Office 365 Security & Compliance Center.
2. Go to the "Search & investigation" section.
3. Click on "Auditing" and then "Configure auditing".
4. Select the mailboxes or users you want to audit.
5. Choose the events you want to capture.
6. Set the retention period for auditing data.
7. Click "Save" to enable auditing.

Best practices:

• Enable auditing for all mailboxes or specific mailboxes that require additional security and monitoring.
• Configure auditing to capture specific events or all events.
• Regularly review and analyze auditing data to detect and prevent unauthorized activities.
• Consider implementing additional security measures, such as multi-factor authentication and access controls, to further enhance mailbox security.