You have previously been able to read about How Santa uses Microsoft Teams to plan for Christmas (2022) and Santa’s preparation to become Microsoft 365 Copilot Ready (2023). Of course, this year you will also be able to read a new independent episode of my story about the challenges Santa experiences before and during Christmas and how, with the use of IT, he succeeds more or less well in carrying out his tasks. Not infrequently, someone tries to put sticks in the wheels (or hook legs for Rudolf) and that is also the case this year.

In this blog post, all illustrations and a few text manipulations were created with Microsoft 365 Copilot. However, the main part of the story is created based on the author’s strange imagination and humor. A lot of the text has also been written during a few late Friday evenings, which can explain the creativity. Hope you will have a pleasant time reading this years contribution to the Festive Tech Calendar 2024.

Protecting Santa’s Wish Lists: A Guide to Securing Sensitive Information

Introduction: Who is Harry Hacker?

Harry Hacker wasn’t always the information thief he is today. He once was a brilliant computer science student but Harry’s curiosity about the digital world led him down a darker path. After a series of unfortunate events and feeling betrayed by those he trusted (especially Santa who forgot to give him his Christmas present when he was 6 years old), Harry turned his skills towards hacking. Now, he seeks to exploit vulnerabilities for personal gain, and his latest target is Santa’s archive of old wish lists. If Harry Hacker were to get his hands on the wish lists, he could:

• Perpetrate Identity Theft: Use the personal information to steal identities, causing distress and potential financial loss to families.
• Cause Loss of Trust in Santa: If the public learns that Santa’s data was compromised, it could lead to a loss of trust in Santa’s ability to keep their information safe.
• Cause Operational Disruption: Harry could use the information to disrupt Santa’s operations, causing delays in gift deliveries and ruining the holiday spirit.

Unfortunately, Harry is gifted with overconfidence and thinks he can get away with most of his shady activities. What he doesn’t know is that Santa has learned through reliable sources that Harry intends to steal these wish lists to obtain personal information for unknown, but certainly nefarious, purposes. Fortunately, Santa has chosen to store this information in Microsoft 365 because it offers a secure, scalable, and accessible platform. With features like data encryption, multi-factor authentication, and advanced threat protection, Microsoft 365 ensures that sensitive information is well-protected and easily managed. Thus, this provides robust technology to thwart Harry’s plans. However, it requires active planning and action. Santa must ensure that all information is stored in the right place, sufficiently protected, and that all his helpers are updated about the risks and extra observant of their work processes.

The Tale of Sloppy Elf Eddie

Eddie is one of Santa’s enthusiastic and hardworking elves. However, he tends to be a bit sloppy with his work. One snowy evening, Eddie was in a rush to finish his tasks and accidentally stored a list of children’s names and addresses on his personal, unsecured device instead of the secure Microsoft 365 environment of Santas Company. This mistake could have exposed sensitive information to potential threats like Harry Hacker.

Eddie’s day started like any other in Santa’s office. He was busy updating the wish lists and ensuring all the children’s details were correctly entered into the system. However, Eddie was also excited about the upcoming elf party and wanted to finish his work quickly. In his haste, he copied the wish lists onto his personal device to work on them later at home.

Eddies device lacked the robust security features of Microsoft 365. It didn’t have data encryption, multi-factor authentication, or advanced threat protection. This made it an easy target for hackers like Harry. Luckily, Santa’s Chief Information Security Elf, Clara, noticed unusual activity and quickly intervened before any data was compromised.

Harry Hacker’s Persistent Attempts and Santa’s Robust Defenses

Harry Hacker, determined to get his hands on Santa’s sensitive information, tried various methods to breach Santa’s defenses. He attempted phishing attacks, sending deceptive emails to Santa’s elves, hoping they would click on malicious links. However, thanks to Microsoft 365’s Advanced Threat Protection (ATP), these emails were flagged and quarantined before they could cause any harm. Harry then tried to exploit vulnerabilities in the network by launching brute force attacks, but the multi-factor authentication (MFA) in place required additional verification steps that he couldn’t bypass. He even attempted to intercept data during transmission, but the encryption protocols ensured that the data remained unreadable and secure. Each time Harry thought he had found a way in, Santa’s proactive measures and the robust security features of Microsoft 365 thwarted his efforts, leaving him frustrated and empty-handed.

Ivy, The Insider Elf

In addition to external threats, Santa had to be vigilant about internal risks. Unknown to many, Harry Hacker had a secret ally inside Santa’s workshop—an elf named Ivy. Ivy had access to Santa’s systems and tried to use her position to help Harry. She attempted to access sensitive files using Microsoft Search and Microsoft 365 Copilot, hoping to find and extract valuable information. However, Santa had implemented Sensitivity Labels with Policies in Microsoft 365. These labels ensured that sensitive information could not be copied, downloaded, or forwarded without proper authorization. Every time Ivy tried to bypass these controls, she was met with access denied messages and alerts, effectively preventing her from leaking any data to Harry. Santa’s diligent use of Sensitivity Labels and the correct access settings ensured that even trusted insiders couldn’t misuse their access.

Discovering the Plot

Santa’s vigilance didn’t stop at implementing security measures; he also relied on comprehensive logging and reporting features within Microsoft 365. These tools allowed Santa to monitor all activities within his network. One day, Clara, the Chief Information Security Elf, noticed unusual access patterns and flagged them for Santa. Detailed logs revealed that Ivy had been attempting to access and manipulate sensitive files. Further investigation showed that these attempts coincided with Harry Hacker’s external attacks. Santa immediately acted. He confronted Ivy, who confessed to her involvement with Harry. Santa revoked Ivy’s access to all sensitive systems and reported her actions to the North Pole Security Council. As for Harry, Santa’s team worked with global cybersecurity agencies to track his activities, ensuring he was apprehended and prevented from causing further harm The hunt was short and both Harry and Ivy could be arrested and as it should be they were packaged for an indefinite period with the possibility of a pardon when Christmas is over.

Santa’s successful solid preparations and preventive actions

So, what had Santa done that brought about this story’s happy resolution? Santas first step in protecting sensitive information was to identify where it is stored and how it might be exposed. Santa’s wish lists, for example, contain names, addresses, and personal preferences of children worldwide.

How Santa started to identify and manage sensitive information:

1. Inventory of Information: Santa started by creating an inventory of all the data he stores.

1. Wish Lists: Containing names, addresses, and personal preferences of children.
2. Delivery Schedules: Detailed plans for delivering gifts to millions of homes worldwide.
3. Elf Records: Personal information about Santa’s helpers, including their roles and responsibilities.
4. Operational Plans: Strategic documents outlining Santa’s logistics and operations.

2. Classification: He classified the information based on its sensitivity. E.g. Personal details like names and addresses were marked as highly sensitive.
3. Access Control: Santa performs regular reviews on who has access to this information. Only Santa and his most trusted elves should have access to the most sensitive data.

How Santa use Microsoft 365 to Protect Sensitive Data

• Data Loss Prevention (DLP): DLP policies helps Santa to identify, monitor, and automatically protect sensitive information across Microsoft 365 services.
• Encryption: Encrypting emails and documents ensures that only authorized Elfs and Santa can access the information.
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring Santas employees to verify their identity.
• Advanced Threat Protection (ATP): ATP helps Santa to protect his staff against sophisticated threats like phishing and malware.
• Compliance Manager: This helps Santa to assess and manage compliance risks, ensuring that all data handling practices meet the regulatory requirements of The International Santa Council.

Santa and GDPR

Since Santa’s residence is in the Nordics and he handles a lot of information that comes from- and is handled in the EU, it is, for several reasons, of the utmost importance that he complies with The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For Santa, being GDPR compliant means ensuring that all personal data, including children’s wish lists and elf records, is processed lawfully, transparently, and securely. This not only protects the privacy of individuals but also upholds Santa’s reputation as a trusted figure.

Santas Remediation Process for breach on Highly Exposed Information

If Santa discovers that sensitive information has been exposed, he must act quickly to remediate the situation. Here’s his step-by-step process:

1. Immediate Containment: As soon as a breach is detected, Santa should contain the breach to prevent further exposure. This might involve revoking access rights or isolating affected systems.
2. Assessment: Assess the extent of the exposure. Determine what information was accessed and how it was exposed.
3. Notification: Inform affected parties about the breach. Transparency is crucial in maintaining trust.
4. Mitigation: Implement measures to mitigate the damage. This could include offering identity protection services to affected individuals.
5. Review and Improve: Conduct a thorough review of the incident to understand how it happened and improve security measures to prevent future breaches.

Santas measures to Ensure Continuous Protection

To ensure continuous protection of sensitive information, Santa does:

• Perform Regular Training: Conduct regular training sessions for his helpers to keep them updated on the latest security practices and threats. Eddie, for example, needs to learn the importance of storing data in the right place.
• Perform Regular Audits: Perform regular audits of the information storage and access controls to ensure compliance with security policies.
• Use Advanced Security Features: Leverage advanced security features in Microsoft 365, such as data loss prevention (DLP) policies and encryption.

All’s well that ends well

Santa can happily state that once again, evil has been defeated by good. He laughs to himself that Harry and his helpers have gotten what they deserve and the children’s wish lists rest in Santa’s safe hands and their wishes can be delivered in time for Christmas, exactly as planned and exactly as it should be. Santa thinks that now he will go into the Santa factory and pick out a barrel of his most exclusive Christmas mulled wine and invite all the helpers to the most Christmas After Work in history.

From joking to seriousness. The best thing you can do to avoid types like Harry Hacker and his followers is to make sure you use the right technology and that you ensure that your users are educated and aware. Most of what you need to know to properly secure your information can be found right here on Microsoft Learn: Microsoft Purview | Microsoft Learn.

With this, I wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy new (and hopefully peaceful, calm and safe) 2025.

/Magnus