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Almost all businesses use Power BI to merge their multiple data sources to shape the data into visually interpretable reports.
These reports help businesses make important decisions backed by actionable data insights. But is your data secure on Power BI platforms? Ensuring data security on Power BI is essential since it deals with sensitive business information that raises certain concerns, such as.
- Is my cloud data accessible to unauthorized users?
- Are my reports getting shared outside the premises?
- Is my Power BI data center secure on the hybrid cloud?
And so on, so how will you protect your sensitive from getting exposed to third-party users? Let’s have a look.
What are the security features of Power BI?
Power BI stands for a business intelligence tool, offering several security components to help you ensure that data is secure and accessible only to authorized individuals, which is as follows:
Data security: It provides row-level security, dynamic security, and Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) security features to protect the data.
Authentication security: Power BI supports various authentication methods, such as Azure AD, Active Directory Federated Services (ADFS), and OAuth 2.0 to verify the identity of users or devices attempting to get in.
Network security: This helps to secure data while in transit between Power BI and other systems or users through SSL/TLS encryption.
Compliance security: Features like data classification, and data loss prevention in Power BI help you comply with regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS.
Follow Power Apps security best practices to prevent illegal access and handle sensitive data properly.
24 Best Power BI Security Practices to Implement Now
1. Enable Power BI Row Level Security (RLS)
This security feature in Power BI enables you to restrict data access at the row level depending on user roles or other criteria. By implementing RLS, you can control who and what kind of data users can access.
How to add row-level security in Power BI?
To implement Power BI row-level security, follow these steps:
- Define roles based on user groups, departments, or any other criteria.
- Assign roles manually or use Active Directory or other authentication providers to automatically assign roles to users.
- Create filters to limit data access for each role based on specific data fields such as department, or location.
- Apply filters to tables in your data model. You can do this by creating a DAX expression that filters the data based on the user’s role.
- Try logging in as another user to test RLS implementation and verify that you can only see the data that you have given access to.
Note: It is required to have a Power BI Pro or Power BI Premium license to implement row-level security as it is not available in the free plan.
2 . Implement Power BI Object Level Security (OLS)
Instead of restricting users from accessing the entire report or file, limit access to tables and columns with sensitive data such as financial records. This is called the Power BI object-level security model. However, Microsoft does not allow OLS in Power BI desktop. Use external tools like Tabular Editor for configuring OLS and creating roles.
Steps to use the external tools feature to automatically connect the Tabular editor to the OLS model.
- Go to model view and select Roles from the drop-down menu.
- Define the role at which you want to enable OLS.
- Go to table permissions and set whether you want a particular column or table to be read by the user or not. Selecting None will secure a specific table or column from the user by hiding it and the Read option will make it visible.
- Save the changes.
- Publish the dataset to the Power BI service and then assign members or groups from the more options on the Security page.
- Only users with permission can access the specific table or column on which OLS is applied, others will get a message ‘field not found.
Remember Power BI object-level security applies only to users with viewer roles in the workspace.
3. Use Azure AD
Azure AD allows you to enforce security policies, control access to your Power BI content, and manage user authentication. Here are some ways to use Azure AD for Power BI Desktop security:
- Single-sign-on (SSO)helps users access the Power BI desktop with single credentials, so no more worrying about remembering multiple credentials, and even reduces the risk of weak passwords and reuse.
- Control access to Power BI Desktop by implementing conditional access for user location, device type, or risk level.
- Add an extra layer of security to user authentication with multi-factor authentication that helps to add a fingerprint, or a code sent to the user’s phone number.
- Control access based on user roles and permissions by implementing role-based access control (RBAC).
4. Add Sensitivity Labels
Admins of Microsoft 365 and Azure can control the amount of information shared within and outside the businesses using sensitivity labels. The feature lets admins configure labels on reports thus restricting the distribution capability.
What’s great about this feature is that the labels are also applied to the Office file. However, implementing this security practice can be costly depending on your Microsoft 365 subscription.
5. Secure Workspaces
Adding security to workspaces helps you define who can access datasets, reports, and other published content. Dividing the user roles (Admin, member, contributor, and viewer) in the workspace will further enhance data security. Additionally, you can limit the extent of data access by assigning privileges to these user roles.
For example, a user with view access can only see the content whereas a contributor can make changes in the content. You can define the access level for users from the admin portal and then go to settings.
6. Conduct Regular Auditing
Regularly checking the logs of activities on the Power BI platforms helps evaluate whether all the regulatory requirements are met or not. Only admins with authority to access the Office 365 Admin Centre can review the Power BI event logs such as dataset created and deleted reports, and shared, and exported reports with other users.
7. Limit Guest User Creation
When sharing content with users outside your business, it is important to add an extra layer of security in Power BI. This external sharing is done through Azure Active Directory B2B where you can set permissions for guest users. There are two ways to share reports and files with guest users:
- Enable edit and manage settings to enable content browsing and send access requests for specific content. However, guest users cannot publish or update the reports without the Get Data service. Certain actions are still restricted for guest users, such as direct publishing to Power BI service, sending ad hoc invites, installing published apps, and more.
- Use in-place dataset sharing, which allows guest users to access the content within their own home tenant.
8. Ensure Data and Service Security
Power BI guarantees data security, whether your data is at rest, in transit, or in use. Azure SQL DB and Azure Blob Storage provide encryption for data at rest while HTTPS encrypts data in transit. However, when sharing data, the complete responsibility for data lies with you. You can hire Power BI developers who can manage your reporting needs effectively and help you deal with potential security breaches.
Use credentials for Power BI reports when sharing with an unauthenticated person. For public reports, disable the ‘Share content with external users’ setting in the admin portal. There is another setting to secure the reports from getting published on the internet. Turn off the ‘Publish to web’ setting and do it for the whole organization.
Also, turn off the’ export data’ setting if you don’t want users to print the reports. These settings will help what users can and cannot do with reports.
9. Monitor Data Gateways
Data gateways connect on-premises data sources to Power BI cloud services, and it’s important to keep them secure and up to date for data security. There are two ways to monitor and manage them:
- Keeping your gateway software up to date to benefit from the latest security patches and improvements.
- Restricting access to gateway administration by granting access only to necessary personnel.
- Regularly reviewing and updating user permissions and access to gateways.
10. Implement Data Classification and Retention Policies
categorize data based on sensitivity and apply retention policies to store it for a specific duration and delete it when not needed. This helps mitigate breaches and ensures security compliance.
11. Educate Your Users
It is essential to educate your users about the security best practices and potential risks. Regularly train your users on topics such as:
- Recognizing and avoiding phishing attacks.
- Creating strong and unique passwords.
- Understanding the importance of multi-factor authentication.
- Adhering to your organization’s data security policies and procedures.
12. Perform Regular Security Assessments
Regularly gauge the security of your Power BI implementation to discover vulnerabilities and ensure that your security measures are effective. Assess the security for penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and risk assessments to detect and fix any fragile component in your system.
13. Utilize Power BI Data Protection Features
Power BI’s built-in data protection features like DLP policies help prevent sensitive data from being mistakenly shared or leaked, while IRM allows controlling and restricting access to sensitive reports and datasets.
14. Monitor User Activity and Anomalies
Monitor user activity in your Power BI setup to identify any suspicious acts that could harm your data. Work with tools like Azure AD’s monitoring and reporting components to build alters and notifications for certain acts and behavioral patterns.
15. Develop a Security Incident Response Plan
Draft all the necessary steps to consider when in the situation of data breaches and share the strategies with relevant people on the guard to protect from such incidents.
16. Custom Security Solutions
Get Power BI consulting services to build and integrate security features like custom authentication, access control, and auditing into your Power BI environment.
17. Secure Embedded Power BI Reports and Dashboards
When integrating Power BI reports and dashboards into your software, ensure to prioritize security. Utilize App Owns Data or User Owns Data options to control access to the embedded content and protect it from an uncertified approach.
18. Regularly Review and Update Security Measures
Educate yourself on the latest security trends, vulnerabilities, and Power BI security best practices to secure your Power BI environment.
19. Plan for Backup
Craft a backup and disaster recovery plan to save from unexpected system failure, data loss, or other events. Be sure to security backup your datasets, reports, and Power BI dashboards to store the data in a secure place.
20. Secure Data Connections
Ensure the secure connection between Power BI and external systems. For this, you can employ encryption, secure authentication methods, and access controls to protect data flow between Power BI and other systems.
21. Follow the Principle of Least Privilege
Give users the minimum level of access required to perform their tasks. Regularly review and update their permissions and roles to prevent unnecessary access to sensitive data and features.
22. Utilize Data Masking Techniques
The data masking technique lets you display a censored or blurred version of sensitive information, which prevents unofficial persons from viewing the original data while maintaining the overall structure and appearance of the data.
23. Evaluate and Monitor Third-Party Integrations
Be attentive when integrating third-party applications, services, or custom visuals into your Power BI environment. Assess the security of these integrations and monitor their access to your data. Also, ensure that the third-party tools in use adhere to security standards.
24. Create a Security Awareness Culture
Foster a culture of security awareness in your organization, describing the importance of data security in Power BI and the responsibility that every user should carry to safeguard sensitive information. Regularly relay security updates, Power BI security best practices, and protocols to your users and encourage them to report any suspicious acts or possible vulnerabilities.
