SaaS Security
Onboard a Microsoft Exchange App to SSPM
Table of Contents
Onboard a Microsoft Exchange App to SSPM
Connect a Microsoft Exchange instance to SSPM to detect posture risks.
| Where Can I Use This? | What Do I Need? |
|---|---|
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Or any of the following licenses that include the Data Security license:
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To detect posture risks in your Microsoft Exchange instance, SSPM connects to the
instance by using information that you provide. Once SSPM connects, it scans the
Microsoft Exchange instance for misconfigured settings and will continue to run
scans at regular intervals.
Previously, you could
also onboard a Microsoft Exchange app by using a PowerShell connector, which enabled
SSPM to scan the app instance using a Microsoft Graph API. In May 2025, we
discontinued this PowerShell connector because it did not support multi-factor
authentication (MFA). If you already connected SSPM to your Microsoft Exchange app
instance using the PowerShell connector, your established connection will continue
to work. However, if there is any change to the configuration information that you
provided to SSPM (such as an updated login password), you will need to onboard the
Microsoft Exchange app instance again. To re-onboard the Microsoft Exchange app
instance, use the connector described below, which uses data extraction techniques
to scan your app instance.
Onboard a Microsoft Exchange App for Scans That Use Data Extraction
Connect a Microsoft Exchange instance to SSPM to detect posture risks.
High-level configuration scanning across Office 365 products is available by onboarding the Office 365 app. Adding the Microsoft Exchange app
individually gives you greater visibility into Microsoft Exchange settings.
For SSPM to detect posture risks in your Microsoft Exchange instance with more detail
than the Office 365 app scan, you must onboard your Microsoft Exchange instance to
SSPM. Through the onboarding process, SSPM logs in to a Microsoft administrator
account. SSPM uses this account to scan your Microsoft Exchange instance for
misconfigured settings. If there are misconfigured settings, SSPM suggests a
remediation action based on best practices.
During the onboarding process, you will supply Microsoft Exchange account credentials
to SSPM. SSPM can access the account directly or through the Okta or Microsoft Azure
identity providers. Having SSPM access the account through one of these identity
providers requires MFA, which adds an extra layer of security.
To onboard your Microsoft Exchange instance, you complete the following actions:
Collect Information for Connecting to Your Microsoft Exchange Instance
To access your Microsoft Exchange instance, SSPM requires the following
information, which you will specify during the onboarding process.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| User | The username or email address of the
administrator account. The format that you use can depend on
whether SSPM will be logging in directly to your account or
through an identity provider. Required Permissions:
The user must be assigned to the Microsoft Global Admin
role. |
| Password | The password for the administrator account. |
If you are using Okta as your identity provider, you must provide SSPM with the
following additional information:
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Okta subdomain | The Okta subdomain for your organization. The subdomain was included in the login URL that Okta assigned to your organization. |
| Okta 2FA secret | A key that is used to generate one-time passcodes for MFA. |
If you are using Azure Active Directory (AD) as your identity provider, you must
provide SSPM with the following additional information:
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Azure 2FA secret | A key that is used to generate one-time passcodes for MFA. |
As you complete the following steps, make note of the values of the items
described in the preceding tables. You will need to enter these values during
onboarding to access your Microsoft Exchange instance from SSPM.
- Identify the Microsoft administrator account that SSPM will use to access your Microsoft Exchange instance. The administrator must be assigned to the Microsoft Global Admin role.Determine whether you want SSPM to log in to the administrator account directly, or through an identity provider.Using an identity provider adds an extra layer of security by requiring MFA using one-time passcodes. You can use Okta or Microsoft Azure as the identity provider for accessing the administrator account. However, if you use an identity provider, SSPM requires more information for MFA.
- (For Okta log in) To access the administrator account through Okta:
- (For Microsoft Azure log in) To access the administrator account through Microsoft Azure:
Connect SSPM to Your Microsoft Exchange Instance
By adding a Microsoft Exchange app in SSPM, you enable SSPM to connect to your Microsoft Exchange instance.- Log in to Strata Cloud Manager.Select and click the Microsoft Exchange tile.Under posture security instances, Add Instance or, if there is already an instance configured, Add New instance.Specify how you want SSPM to connect to your Microsoft Exchange instance. SSPM can Log in with Credentials, Log in with Okta, or Log in with Azure.When prompted, provide SSPM with the administrator credentials. If SSPM is connecting to the account through an identity provider, specify the information that SSPM needs for MFA.Connect.
