Microsoft 365 Mobile Data Protection
- Jessica Steele
- Emily Ogden (Deactivated)
- Cassandra Rinker
To protect University organizational data from unauthorized access on mobile devices, ITS is implementing the Microsoft 365 Protection Program. Organizational data is defined as anything that is saved in or opened from a WVU Microsoft 365 cloud services such as Outlook email, Calendar, OneDrive or SharePoint. Any document or content shared via a WVU email account makes that document organizational data, regardless of its purpose or origin. Users enrolled in this program will only be able to access these documents with the suite of Microsoft 365 mobile apps (Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, etc.). Organizational data viewed/edited within these apps cannot be saved to the mobile device and opened in other apps, and cut/copy/paste and printing documents is disabled.
New users must install an authenticator app, and set up a PIN and/or biometric identifier to use when accessing Outlook. You will be prompted to enter the PIN or biometric identifier after 15 minutes of inactivity (only required for Outlook). The authenticator app itself is a mobile app management tool and ITS will in no way manage or have any access to data on your device. This only ensures that organizational data is kept separate from other personal data and unauthorized access by other apps. A broader rollout is planned for all administrative departments that handle Sensitive Data in the near future.
Note: WVU Microsoft 365 email and calendars cannot be accessed in the native mail/calendar apps after these policies are applied to those in the program. Use the Outlook app or Outlook Web App on mobile devices to view email and calendars. This method is the least intrusive option for protecting University data on personal mobile devices.
Note About Organizational and Personal Data:
If content is created on your personal device and saved only on your personal device, it is not organizational data. However, if you receive personal content from someone else in your WVU email and open it, that content also becomes organizational data and cannot be saved to the mobile device, cut/copy/pasted, or printed. All employees are reminded to use personal accounts for personal business. The Acceptable Use of Technology Resources Policy allows only de minimis personal use of University technology resources.
Setting up Outlook/Authenticator on Mobile Device:
To get started, view the following articles for instructions on how to set up Outlook and the required authenticator app:
Note: You do not need to uninstall Outlook if it is already installed on your personal phone. If you have any difficulties installing the authenticator or receive an error message, start by uninstalling Outlook and the authenticator app and starting the process over again. Otherwise, contact the ITS Service Desk.
Accessing Documents after Setup:
After you've installed Outlook and set up the authenticator app as shown in the articles above, you will need to install or open the related Microsoft 365 mobile app (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) for the document you wish to view/edit. If you receive an error message, be sure you visit the app store on your mobile device and install the correct Microsoft 365 mobile app. You will not be able to download documents from Microsoft 365 and open them in other apps on your mobile device.
Troubleshooting:
If you use Teams or another Microsoft 365 mobile app to share/open a file, but not Outlook, you will have to go through the initial setup process with the authenticator app.
It is normal to receive one or more pop-up messages during setup reading something to the effect of 'your organization is protecting its data.' This user experience changes depending on the mobile device and OS you are using. There are many different kinds of Android OS, so user experience may vary.
If you cannot access a WVU document using the required Microsoft 365 mobile app, tap your profile and ensure you are signed into your WVU Microsoft 365 account within the app and not using a personal account.
If you attempt to open a file and receive a message reading 'preview unavailable' (in Teams) or 'You don't have sufficient permissions...' (in the Microsoft 365 app) the document is locked by the creator. They need to give you permission to open the document.
If you attempt to open a file and receive a message reading something to the effect of ‘file is unusable or corrupted,’ this is indicating that the file is encrypted and the application you are using cannot open it. Try to open the file in the appropriate Microsoft 365 mobile app.
OneDrive mobile app has a built in PDF and photo viewer, but you will need to install the corresponding Microsoft 365 mobile app to view/edit Word, Excel, PowerPoint or other Microsoft 365 documents created in WVU's Microsoft 365 tenant.