Are You Using M365 Co-pilot? Beware of Missing Logs and Hidden Costs

Leveraging M365 Co-pilot’s AI capabilities can be transformative for organizations, but recent insights underscore that logging and auditing around Co-pilot aren’t just optional—they’re crucial for maintaining security, compliance, and enabling effective digital forensics. According to Microsoft’s documentation, M365 Co-pilot and its associated services do not automatically enable comprehensive logging by default. This poses critical concerns for organizations, especially those in regulated industries or with robust security and forensic requirements.

Below, we’ll explore how the absence of robust logging impacts security and digital forensics and provide actionable steps to ensure that audit logs are effectively managed across Microsoft portals.

Why Logging for M365 Co-pilot is Vital for Security and Digital Forensics

1. Security Assurance
Logging is central to establishing a security-first posture with any cloud-based tool. With M365 Co-pilot’s access to vast organizational data, ensuring all user activities and system processes are logged is essential. Without complete logging, it’s difficult to confirm whether data has been accessed securely, whether unauthorized access has occurred, or if sensitive information was shared unintentionally.

2. Critical for Digital Forensics
In the event of a security incident, logs are a foundational element for digital forensics. Without audit trails, identifying the cause, scope, and impact of a data breach or unauthorized activity becomes much harder. This delays incident response, increases recovery costs, and can even lead to unresolved security threats. In certain industries, forensics processes are also integral to regulatory compliance, making comprehensive logging a legal necessity.

3. Compliance and Regulatory Adherence
For sectors governed by regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA, maintaining audit logs is non-negotiable. Microsoft documentation specifies that Co-pilot activities don’t automatically meet all compliance requirements out-of-the-box. Organizations could face severe fines or legal repercussions if audit logs do not provide enough detail to meet regulatory standards.

Key Challenges: Limited Logging by Default

Based on information from Microsoft’s Co-pilot Privacy Documentation, audit logs aren’t automatically enabled, and even when they are, the extent of logged information may be limited. In Co-pilot Studio, the Admin Logging Documentation notes that certain data and user interactions might not be included in logs by default, leaving gaps in visibility that are crucial for security and forensic investigations.

How to Ensure Effective Audit Logging for M365 Co-pilot

To address the gaps in M365 Co-pilot logging, here are concrete steps for IT administrators, security teams, and compliance officers to ensure all necessary activities are logged and auditable.

1. Enable and Configure Logging Across Microsoft Portals
M365 Co-pilot’s activities span across various Microsoft portals, such as the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, Security & Compliance Center, and Co-pilot Studio. Each portal may have its own audit log settings, and it’s crucial to ensure logging is configured and actively monitored in each environment. Begin by enabling audit logging through the following portals:

• Microsoft 365 Admin Center: Enable logging here to capture user activities, permissions changes, and access requests across Microsoft 365 applications.
• Security & Compliance Center: Use this portal to configure data governance policies, user activity monitoring, and audit logs specifically for compliance-related actions.
• Co-pilot Studio: Ensure that audit logging within Co-pilot Studio is enabled to capture Co-pilot-specific interactions and data access details, especially for workflows created with Co-pilot.

2. Test Logging Functionality Regularly
Regularly review and test your audit logs to confirm they are capturing all necessary information. Create test scenarios within M365 Co-pilot and verify that corresponding logs reflect these actions accurately. Consider generating routine reports to ensure that audit trails are being recorded as expected.

3. Establish Alerts and Reporting
Set up alerts in the Security & Compliance Center to notify your team of suspicious or high-risk activity involving M365 Co-pilot. Leverage Microsoft’s APIs to integrate these logs into your organization’s SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) system, enabling centralized monitoring and correlation with other logs.

4. Review Role-Based Access Controls (RBAC) Regularly
To minimize the risk of unauthorized access, regularly review and update role-based access controls within Co-pilot and across the broader Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Ensure that only authorized personnel have access to sensitive data and critical Co-pilot functions, such as data analysis or recommendations generation.

5. Work with Microsoft or Your MSP for Logging Enhancements
If your organization requires more detailed or specialized logging for regulatory compliance, collaborate with Microsoft or a Managed Service Provider (MSP) to explore advanced options or integrations. Microsoft frequently updates its services, and engaging with them directly may reveal new features or security updates.

Educating Your Team: Ensuring Logs Are Working Properly

To fully secure M365 Co-pilot and make effective use of its audit logs, organizations must prioritize continuous education for both IT and security teams:

• Training on Audit Log Management: Provide training on how to access and interpret audit logs within Microsoft 365 portals. Ensure that your team understands where to look for relevant logs and how to recognize potential indicators of compromise.
• Routine Audits of Logging Practices: Regularly audit your logging configurations to ensure they align with best practices and regulatory needs. Conduct these audits biannually or whenever new features are introduced to M365 Co-pilot.
• Incident Response Drills: Simulate security incidents involving M365 Co-pilot to test the effectiveness of your logging practices. This can reveal any gaps in your current configurations and allow your team to practice forensic investigations using the audit logs.

Conclusion

As Microsoft continues to develop M365 Co-pilot, its ability to transform organizational productivity will increase. However, without comprehensive logging, organizations risk security, compliance, and forensics integrity. By proactively enabling and monitoring logs across all Microsoft portals, you can maximize the benefits of M365 Co-pilot while minimizing risks and enhancing your digital forensic capabilities.

Security and digital forensics are only as strong as the logs they rely on. Investing time to ensure M365 Co-pilot audit logs are properly configured, monitored, and managed will help protect your organization, mitigate potential threats, and ensure compliance across critical workflows.