How secure is Business Central?

Abstract

ERP systems Applications such as Microsoft Business Central are designed to simplify business activities, and their security is of utmost importance. Therefore, it is necessary to implement basic security measures such as antivirus programs and strong passwords to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access. Thanks to the Modern Lifecycle Policy, Microsoft ensures regular updates and improvements to Business Central. The security of the application is ensured by authentication, authorization, monitoring and data encryption to ensure that information is protected at the highest level.

The security of the Business Central Online platform is ensured thanks to Azure Active Directory for user authentication. It applies data encryption and recommends using security protocols to access other services. The data in the Business Central SaaS is stored in a Microsoft Azure data center and is regularly backed up to allow for quick recovery if needed.

Introduction

It is common knowledge that every business can benefit from implementing ERP. If you decide to Microsoft Business Central as your ERP system, you ensure your company implements a reliable and globally proven solution that will significantly simplify your daily business activities. But it's logical to ask yourself – how secure is Business Central? After all, we're talking about a program that, once implemented, will contain absolutely all of your company's data. No one wants such sensitive information to fall into the wrong hands. In this article, we will explain in detail how Business Central protects your data and why you can use it with confidence knowing that your data is protected at the highest level.

Security in general

It is important to note that every company must implement its own basic security measures. If you neglect basic steps such as using antivirus programs and setting strong passwords on computers, other security measures will not be effective and will not protect your company from unauthorized access. It is also advisable to limit and control user access to your database. As for the security of Business Central in general, it is subject to Microsoft's Modern Lifecycle Policy. This means that the software is regularly updated on a monthly basis, and Microsoft also delivers one major update every 6 months. Thanks to these regular updates, Business Central is a reliable and secure solution. You can be sure that your data is protected and your business is secured, because Microsoft takes care of continuously improving the security aspects of the program.

Application security

Microsoft's Application Security Business Central-a is guaranteed regardless of the hosting location. This system uses a layered approach to ensure complete protection. It achieves this through the following steps:

1. Authentication: Before a user can log in to Business Central, they must be recognized as an authentic user in the system itself.
2. Authorization: after authentication, authorization determines exactly what the user is allowed to access (which files, documents, etc.).
3. Auditing: Monitoring in Business Central includes various features that make it easy to track user activity, including information about user logins to the application, their access, and the changes they made.
4. Data Encryption: Select which data you want to encrypt in the Business Central server. You can create new or import existing encryption keys into the system.
5. Security Development Lifecycle (SDL): SDL represents a process that standardizes security best practices in product and/or application development. SDL integration allows developers to create more secure software that meets security requirements.

Such a segregated and layered approach ensures comprehensive security. It is impossible for all steps to fail and data to be 'leaked'.

Online security

Microsoft ensures the protection and security of Business Central Online platform tenants through the implementation of multi-layered online security measures:

• Authentication: Business Central Online uses Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) to authenticate users. Azure AD is automatically included and integrated into Business Central, enabling reliable user authentication.
• Encryption: Business Central Online applies encryption to your data to ensure its security. Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) is used to encrypt data and to encrypt backups. All backups of data are also encrypted. Additionally, all traffic within the application is encrypted and standard protocols are used, ensuring data protection during communication.
• Service integration: When users want to access Power BI Server or Business Central web services, Microsoft recommends using encrypted network protocols. This ensures that data is securely transmitted between different services and systems.

Storing your data

When Business Central SaaS is deployed, it is deployed to a Microsoft Azure data center. Each database will be protected by automatically generating backups according to the following schedule:

• Every five minutes, a backup copy of the transaction log is created to enable fast data recovery in case of need.
• Every hour, a differential backup of the database is created, containing only the changed data since the last full backup.
• Every week, a full backup of the entire database is made to ensure data integrity and archiving.

Automatically generated backups are kept for 14 days, which ensures the ability to restore data to various points in time.

Conclusion

The idea of ERP as a system that contains all of your company's data can sound daunting. The level of software security is often a topic that occupies the mind, especially when the entire business is in one place. Today, this topic is more relevant than ever, especially when considering the number and severity of security threats that exist. Cyber security is something that companies absolutely must think about.

Fortunately, Business Central is a modern and secure solution that protects your data in many ways. Among other things, the Modern Lifecycle Policy guarantees constant software up-to-dateness, and a layered approach further enhances the security of Business Central.

If you would like to learn more about Business Central security or the solution in general, contact us with confidence.