Cyber Security
The Essential Eight is the Australian Government's eight-step checklist for not getting hacked. Frontrow works through it using the Microsoft 365 security you already pay for — logins, devices, email, files and cloud apps run as one — and reports progress in terms the board can read, not vendor slideware.
How Frontrow thinks about it
You don't buy cyber. You operate it. Most of the work is switching on the security controls you already pay Microsoft for, then running them properly month after month.
Frontrow makes logins the hardest thing to get past, with a second check at sign-in, tighter controls for admins and alerts when an account behaves out of character. (Microsoft Entra ID Conditional Access, MFA and Privileged Identity Management.)
A stolen password on its own no longer gets anyone in.
Frontrow keeps your whole fleet updated, locked down and reporting its health, instead of trusting people to do it themselves. (Microsoft Intune and Defender for Endpoint.)
Every laptop and phone is accounted for and current.
Frontrow tags sensitive files with labelling staff actually use, so a leak is caught before it leaves the building. (Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels and data loss prevention.)
Sensitive data the wrong people simply can't open.
Frontrow ties your logins, devices, email and cloud apps into one view, so unusual activity is spotted and stopped early. (Microsoft Defender XDR and Sentinel.)
Fewer blind spots, and far fewer 3am surprises.
The honest mapping
For each of the ACSC's eight mitigation strategies, here's why it matters in plain English, and the Microsoft tooling Frontrow uses to deliver it. Not a vendor bingo card — just the controls it configures, tunes and operates.
| # | Strategy | Why you care | Microsoft 365 tools Frontrow uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Application control | Only software you've approved can run, so a downloaded file can't quietly install malware. | Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC), Intune, Defender for Endpoint |
| 02 | Patch applications | The apps your team uses get security updates fast, before attackers exploit the holes everyone knows about. | Defender Vulnerability Management, Intune, Windows Autopatch |
| 03 | Office macros | A booby-trapped Word or Excel file can't run hidden code — one of the most common ways businesses get hit. | Intune Cloud Policy, ASR rules, Defender for Office 365 Safe Attachments |
| 04 | User application hardening | Risky browser and app features are switched off, shutting down the tricks used to sneak code onto a machine. | Intune Security Baselines, Edge policies, ASR rules |
| 05 | Restrict admin privileges | Few people hold the keys to everything, so one compromised account can't take down the whole business. | Entra ID PIM, Conditional Access, Privileged Access Workstations (PAW) |
| 06 | Patch operating systems | Windows itself stays up to date, closing the gaps that ransomware spreads through. | Windows Autopatch, Azure Update Manager, Defender VM |
| 07 | Multi-factor authentication | A second check at sign-in means a stolen password on its own isn't enough to get in. | Entra ID Conditional Access, Authentication Strengths, FIDO2 / Windows Hello for Business |
| 08 | Regular backups | If the worst happens, your business is back up by morning, not next month — with restores that are actually tested. | Purview retention, M365 backup partner (Veeam / AvePoint / Keepit), Azure Backup |
Frontrow's own posture: Maturity Level 2
Frontrow runs its own tenant at Essential Eight Maturity Level 2 across all eight strategies, on the same Microsoft 365 stack it deploys for clients. The team that scores your posture lives inside theirs.
Why Frontrow
Frontrow runs the Microsoft 365 security stack you own properly, then brings specialist partners (Excite Cyber, CyberCert, CyberWyze) in only where they add something the tenant can't.
You stop paying twice for security you already have.
Frontrow names the exact Microsoft 365 control behind each of the eight strategies, shows how it's configured today, and prices the gap-closure.
Evidence an assessor accepts, not a colour-coded confidence trick.
Frontrow pairs Essential Eight work with Copilot readiness so identity, permissions and labelling are right before the AI goes live.
Copilot helps your team instead of becoming a leak.
Frontrow reports Essential Eight maturity, incident trends and unresolved risk monthly, in plain language.
A posture your executive team can actually act on.
Copilot + Cyber
Copilot reasons over whatever your tenant exposes. If your permissions are wrong, your labels are missing and your oversharing is uncapped, Copilot will surface it — confidently and at speed.
Frontrow pairs Essential Eight uplift with Copilot readiness so the AI your team adopts doesn't become your next data-breach vector.
Identity
Entra ID Conditional Access + PIM
Endpoint
Intune + Defender for Endpoint
Defender for Office 365
Data
Purview labels + DLP
Cloud apps
Defender for Cloud Apps
Threat
Defender XDR + Sentinel
How switching to Frontrow works
No scare tactics. Frontrow listens to what you're worried about — an audit, a regulator, a near-miss — and what good would look like.
A senior consultant scores where you sit against all eight strategies today and shows you the real gaps in plain English.
You get a gap-closure plan with a price against each step and a clear target maturity level — what to do first, and why.
The controls get configured and tuned, then operated month after month — with board-ready reporting so the progress is visible.
Ways to start
Score your business against the eight strategies in a few minutes and see where you stand today — free, no sign-up.
Run the check→30 minutes with a senior consultant. Frontrow pressure-tests your posture and tells you what's fine, what's theatre, and what to fix first.
Talk to a senior consultant→Got an audit deadline or a board question you need answered now? Speak to the person who'll do the work, not a salesperson.
Talk to a senior consultant→Prefer to talk it through? Call 1300 012 466 or talk to a senior consultant.
Run the self-assessment, or get a 30-minute cyber review. Frontrow pressure-tests your posture and tells you what's fine, what's theatre, and what to do first.
