Cloud App Security
Cloud apps hardened beyond vendor defaults — because Microsoft ships capability, not security.
Assessment, hardening, access control, change tracking, centralized logging, continuous monitoring, and incident response — applied to M365 and every cloud application that touches your firm's data. Not configured once. Enforced every day.
The Problem
Your cloud apps are almost certainly not as secure as you think.
Financial services firms have moved their operations to the cloud — email, file storage, client management, portfolio systems, AI tools. The assumption is that the vendor secured it. The reality is that vendors ship capability, not security. Microsoft 365 is the clearest example: it is the most widely used cloud platform in financial services, and its defaults are explicitly designed to minimize friction for new tenants — not to protect regulated firms.
Microsoft's own documentation acknowledges this. Security Defaults provide "secure enough to stop common attacks" protection while keeping friction low enough that new tenants don't break their apps or abandon the product. The philosophy is: ship the capability, then let admins opt in to security. For a financial services firm handling non-public information, "opt-in security" is a regulatory liability.
Audit logging is off or limited on many tenants. MFA is risk-based, not always-on. Endpoint security features exist but require configuration and licensing to activate. DLP and exfiltration protection are not configured. Enterprise app consent allows users to grant third-party applications persistent access to firm data without admin approval.
Microsoft changes settings, features, and processes constantly — and does not retroactively advise or fix old configurations. It is almost impossible for a small IT team to keep up. A tenant configured six months ago may already be missing security controls that were not available or not enabled at the time.
Using Microsoft 365 for all layers of cybersecurity is putting all eggs in one basket. If the incident is M365 itself — a compromised global admin, for example — you cannot use M365 tools to investigate or respond. You cannot isolate from within the compromised system. You need independent systems covering independent layers.
Cloud app security is not just M365. It extends to Google Workspace, AI platforms, CRM systems (Salesforce, Ebix/SmartOffice), portfolio management platforms, and any cloud application that handles sensitive data. Every cloud app that stores NPI or handles client data should have the same security treatment — and almost none of them do.
What FCI Delivers
Seven security areas — applied to every cloud application, enforced continuously.
FCI treats cloud app security as a discipline with seven distinct areas, not a single checkbox. Each area addresses a different failure mode — and each one produces evidence that the control is in place. This framework applies to M365 first, then extends to every cloud application that touches firm data.
Automated settings assessment that discovers what is configured, what is missing, and what has drifted from the expected state. FCI uses purpose-built assessment tools augmented with its own benchmarks drawn from 400+ financial services environments. The assessment is not a one-time event — it is the baseline that everything else is measured against.
Build a hardening plan based on assessment findings. Target specific settings and configure them to security standards appropriate for a regulated financial services firm — not generic best practices, not vendor defaults. Every hardening decision is documented, so the firm knows exactly what was changed and why.
Enforce who can access cloud applications and under what conditions. Trusted devices, always-on MFA (not risk-based), known networks, and Microsoft Federation for single sign-on across integrated systems. Users who are also administrators get two separate accounts — separation of privilege so a compromised user credential does not become a compromised admin credential.
Track when settings change, who changed them, and why. Cloud app configurations drift — sometimes by accident, sometimes by a well-meaning admin, sometimes by a bad actor. FCI monitors for unauthorized changes and can distinguish between intentional configuration and unauthorized modification.
All cloud app logs flow to a central location for review and extended retention beyond native limits. Native M365 audit logging is off by default on older tenants, and retention is limited on standard licenses. FCI extends logging, centralizes it across all cloud apps, and applies AI-powered anomaly detection to surface events that matter.
Continuous visibility into cloud app security posture. FCI monitors for indicators of compromise — email rules that move messages to hidden folders and mark them as read (a classic sign of persistent access by a bad actor), unauthorized enterprise app consent grants, login anomalies from unfamiliar locations or devices, and authentication token theft attempts.
When an indicator of compromise is detected, FCI's ability to respond is what separates an organization that survives an attack from one that doesn't. As a Microsoft partner, FCI lists clients at Microsoft and can regain access even if a global admin is compromised — something most IT firms cannot do. FCI uses independent systems across independent security layers, so response is always possible regardless of which layer is compromised.
AI Security
Implementation of AI tools can put your entire firm at risk.
AI is not a separate problem — it is a cloud app security problem. AI may already be embedded in many of the cloud applications your firm uses. And standalone AI tools are proliferating faster than policies can keep up. The risk is not theoretical: an AI agent can process data at the speed of hundreds of thousands of humans. Without data tagging and access controls, a user with broad permissions could unknowingly expose an entire organization's NPI in seconds through an AI tool.
Establish clear policies for employees and affiliates on how AI tools may and may not be used with firm data. This is not optional — regulators are already asking about it.
Due diligence on every AI vendor and solution the firm chooses. Who processes the data? Where is it stored? Can the vendor's AI model be trained on your firm's client data? These are not hypothetical questions.
Clearly identify what is NPI so AI systems — and every other cloud application — know what they can and cannot consume. Without classification, there is no enforcement. With it, DLP and access controls become meaningful.
How FCI Is Different
Four reasons the same cloud apps produce different security outcomes.
Any IT firm can turn on MFA and call it cloud security. The difference between FCI and everyone else is not which tools are used — it is mastery of the platform, automation of enforcement, consistency across every app and every user, and persistent proof that controls are actually in place.
"FCI does not depend on Microsoft to tell you your Microsoft environment is secure. FCI verifies independently — because the question is not whether Microsoft says the settings are applied, but whether they actually are."
Interconnection
Cloud app security does not stand alone — it depends on and strengthens every other domain.
A hardened cloud application is only as secure as the users, devices, and networks that access it. Cloud app security is the layer where all other domains converge — and where gaps in any other domain become visible. Every domain protects every other domain, and cloud app security is the critical junction where those protections are tested.
What You Can Prove
Evidence that builds itself — every day, not just on audit day.
Regulators, home offices, and cyber insurance carriers all ask the same question: can you prove it? FCI produces continuous evidence as a byproduct of how it operates. There is no scramble before an exam. The proof already exists.
Ready to see what your cloud apps look like when someone actually checks?
FCI works with broker-dealers and branch offices, insurance carriers and agencies, and RIAs. Start with a cloud security assessment — it reveals what your current provider hasn't told you.