Introduction to encryption in Microsoft 365

Encryption is the common process of cryptographically encoding information in a way that only individuals or organizations with correct authorization are permitted to read it. The use of encryption greatly increases the resilience to the following threats:

• The theft of data.
• Failures in physical security.
• The interception of data while in transit.
• Within Microsoft 365, there are multiple layers of encryption working together to safeguard customer data both at rest and in transit.

Examples of data-at-rest include the following:

• Files uploaded to a SharePoint site
• Teams chat messages
• Files shared in Microsoft Teams meetings
• Attachments in email messages stored in a mailbox
• Files uploaded to OneDrive for Business

Examples of data-in-transit include the following:

• Conversations taking place in a Teams meeting
• Email messages in the process of being delivered
• Whenever a user...