(Updated) Introducing the new SharePoint experience

🚨 The Signal: SharePoint is rolling out a new experience with AI-assisted features and a unified 'Favorites' system. This update standardises content discovery and site following, potentially exposing more content through AI, requiring review of existing permissions.

The Impact

All SharePoint users are affected by the new experience, with a potential security risk if AI-assisted discovery exposes sensitive content due to overly permissive access.

• End Users: New 'Favorites' experience may change how content is accessed, potentially leading to accidental exposure if permissions are broad.
• Security Team: AI-assisted discovery features could surface sensitive data if access controls are not granularly enforced.
• Admins: Need to review site and content permissions to ensure AI features do not inadvertently expose restricted information.

The Action

1. Review existing SharePoint site and content permissions to ensure least privilege is enforced, especially for sensitive data.
2. Audit sharing policies for SharePoint Online to restrict external or broad internal sharing where AI discovery could amplify exposure.
3. Familiarise with new SharePoint AI capabilities to understand how content is indexed and surfaced to users.
4. Communicate changes to end-users regarding the new 'Favorites' experience and AI-assisted discovery features.

Domain: SharePoint · Impact: medium · Workload: SharePoint