Get Microsoft 365 Certification by demonstrating app security controls

As an app developer, you can work with analysts in the Microsoft 365 App Compliance team to demonstrate that your application and its supporting infrastructure are qualified to protect the security and privacy of your customers’ sensitive data.

When an app undergoes Microsoft 365 Certification, a third-party assessor validates and assesses the app and its supporting infrastructure. To certify, your app must pass the controls in each of the following security domains:

Application security
Operational security
Data handling security and privacy
Optional external compliance audit review

Raise the bar for your app security

The application security domain focuses on the following three areas:

Microsoft Graph API permission validation – Carry out permission validation to validate that the app/add-in does not request overly permissive permissions. For example, request permissions that are required for the functionality of the app.
External connectivity checks – Identify connections in your app outside of Microsoft 365 by performing a walkthrough with an analyst. Flag and discuss any connections you do not identify as Microsoft or any direct connections to an external service.
Application security testing – If your app has any connectivity to any service not published by Microsoft, you must carry out application security testing in the form of penetration testing. If your app operates standalone without connectivity to any non-Microsoft service or backend, this isn’t required.

For details, see Application security.

Operations security

This domain measures the alignment of an app’s supporting infrastructure and deployment processes with security best practices. Assess various controls in this layer, including malware protection, patch management, vulnerability scanning and firewalls, account management and incident management, and change control.

For details, see Operational security.

Data handling security and privacy

Protect data in transit between the application user, intermediary services, and app developer’s systems by encryption through a TLS connection (required). If an application retrieves and stores customer data, you are also required to implement a data storage encryption scheme that follows the encryption profile configuration requirements. This domain also tests controls like data at rest, data retention and disposal, data access management, and GDPR.

For details, see Data handling security and privacy.

Optional external compliance audit review

If the Publisher Attestation includes external compliance audit reports, a certification analyst checks the validity of those reports as part of the Microsoft 365 Certification assessment. To expedite the certification assessment process, the analyst uses evidence for these external compliance audit reports: