Are Windows 365 Cloud PCs Secure?

Imagine that your employee’s personal computer has been hacked.

They only ever used one password for personal accounts, and one of the online stores they shop at has been breached. Their password was made public on the dark web, and cybercriminals have used it to hack into their laptop.

Now, imagine that your employee is using their personal computer for work.

Any data that was stored on the laptop is compromised – files, assets, customer information. Cybercriminals may even be able to use the laptop to compromise your business’s systems, meaning that all of your data could be at risk.

This is a very realistic scenario.

But you can reduce the risk of this happening to your business by deploying Windows 365 Cloud PC. Windows 365 Cloud PC is a secure solution.

Here’s why.

1. The Azure platform is highly secure.

To begin, let’s note that we’re discussing Windows 365 Cloud PC – not the virtual desktop functionality on Windows 10 that allows for multiple screens, but the remote work solution that enables users to access a Windows operating system from anywhere with internet access.

And Azure, Microsoft’s cloud platform, is highly secure.

In an informative piece titled “3 reasons why Azure’s infrastructure is secure,” Microsoft lays out three big factors that make it so:

Secure network infrastructure.

There’s a lot of technical detail undergirding this point, but the gist is that the Azure network has been designed to minimize cybersecurity risk. Its infrastructure has built-in mechanisms to protect against distributed denial-of-service attacks and separated networks that use virtualization methods to prevent unauthorized network access.

Secure hardware and firmware.

Again, it’s worth reading the article for the full technical details, but the hardware and firmware used in the construction of Azure are secure, too. Azure encrypts data in use, in transit, and at rest, and it’s the first cloud platform to support both hardware and software Trusted Execution Environments (which prevent unauthorized processes from accessing data).

Secure testing and monitoring.

Finally, Azure is constantly tested and monitored by a team of over 3,500 cybersecurity experts who work all day, every day to keep the platform secure. This isn’t just reactive work – it also involves continual optimization. In other words, Azure is already secure, and it’s being hardened for even more effective cybersecurity over time.

The bottom line in all of this is that, when you run Windows 365 Cloud PC, you’re running the virtual machine on a very secure cloud platform.

2. Windows 365 Cloud PC separates personal and professional work.

Another key reason that Windows 365 Cloud PC is a secure remote work solution is that it separates professional work from personal work. This drastically reduces the risk that the scenario we described in the introduction would take place in your business.

If your employee is hacked and their work and personal machine aren’t separated, your business will be highly vulnerable. But, if your employee is performing work via Windows 365 Cloud PC, a hacker wouldn’t be able to access that data simply by hacking the personal machine.

Breaches can be more easily confined this way, and your business can be safer.

3. You can configure additional security controls.

Finally, there are also a variety of options that you can configure to make Windows 365 Cloud PC even more secure. For instance, administrators can:

Set up multi-factor authentication.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) requires users to provide two methods of authentication to sign into a system; you’ve probably used MFA when you’ve signed into a site, then gotten a text with a code to fully log in. Requiring multiple authentication points reduces the risk that a single compromise can cause a breach.

You can easily set this up for Windows 365 Cloud PC.

Prevent users from downloading work files to a home PC.

You can also set controls on what users can do via Windows 365 Cloud PC, including limiting or preventing the download of files to a personal machine. This way, you can users don’t keep business data on their personal devices.

Set time limits.

Time limits on screen time are another easy and effective security measure to take. With Windows 365 Cloud PC, administrators can control lock screen settings so that desktops don’t stay up unattended. You can even set sessions to disconnect after a certain period of inactivity. These protocols prevent unauthorized access, especially if your employees ever work in public places.

Looking for a secure remote work solution?

Deployed correctly, Windows 365 Cloud PC on Azure can help your business to create a more secure remote work environment.

If you’re considering this as an option for your business, let’s talk.

At Exigent, we’ve been helping businesses to meet the demands of their fussiest Microsoft Windows power users since 1997, and our staff has over 200 years of cumulative experience implementing and supporting Microsoft technologies.

In other words, we know Windows and cybersecurity inside and out, and we can help to answer any questions you have about security configurations, licensing, or anything else.

And if you are ready to implement Windows 365 Cloud PC, we can provide white-glove support to make the process quick and seamless.

Schedule a free consult today, and start moving toward a solution that doesn’t require you to warily watch your employees’ laptops. You can have peace of mind about remote work cybersecurity, and Windows 365 Cloud PC can help.