If you have been searching for an MSP near me this year, there is a good reason your timing matters. In June 2026, security researchers uncovered a way to turn Microsoft 365 Copilot into what amounts to a one click data theft tool, pulling sensitive information straight out of a person's inbox, OneDrive, and SharePoint without them ever noticing.
Microsoft rated the flaw as critical and patched it quickly, but the incident is a clear signal for Central Texas business owners: the real risk in your Microsoft 365 environment is rarely the software itself. It is who can see what, and whether anyone is watching.
What Is at Stake
Researchers at Varonis found a way to chain three separate weaknesses inside Microsoft 365 Copilot into a single working exploit, which they nicknamed SearchLeak and Microsoft tracked as CVE-2026-42824. The attack started with a specially crafted Copilot Enterprise Search link. Hidden instructions in the link told Copilot to search a victim's email, OneDrive files, SharePoint documents, or calendar entries, then quietly package the results inside an image request. A timing flaw in how the browser rendered Copilot's response let attacker controlled code run before Microsoft's safety checks finished, and a separate weakness in Bing's image search let that stolen data slip past content security protections entirely. From the victim's point of view, it looked like an ordinary Copilot search. Nothing seemed wrong.
Microsoft assigned this a 10 out of 10 severity score and patched it, so the immediate technical exposure is closed for tenants that received the fix. But the bigger lesson is not about one bug. It is about what that bug was able to reach in the first place. Copilot could search and expose whatever the signed-in user already had access to, which means the real exposure in most small and midsize businesses is not a hypothetical zero day. It is the years of accumulated SharePoint links, shared OneDrive folders, and Teams channels that nobody has ever gone back to clean up.
Microsoft's own security teams have said publicly that overshared and misconfigured permissions are among the most common causes of accidental data exposure in cloud collaboration tools today, and a single share with any one link sitting on a folder of payroll files or client records can expose that data to the entire internet without a single alert firing.
Why Central Texas Businesses Face This Challenge
Most owners in New Braunfels, San Marcos, Buda, and Round Rock did not set out to build a sprawling, hard to audit Microsoft 365 tenant. It happens gradually. A project folder gets shared externally for a vendor and never locked back down. An employee leaves and their OneDrive stays fully accessible to a department that no longer needs it. A well meaning office manager turns on Copilot for the whole team because it seemed helpful, without anyone stopping to ask what Copilot can now see and summarize on command.
This is exactly the profile Copilot style attacks are built to exploit, and it is also exactly the profile that traditional break fix IT support is not equipped to catch. A break fix technician shows up when something breaks. Nobody calls them to ask whether last year's departing employee still has an open OneDrive share, or whether the marketing folder that was shared with an outside agency in 2024 ever got locked back down. That kind of quiet, ongoing hygiene work is the actual job of managed IT, and it is precisely the gap that leaves Central Texas businesses of 10 to 250 employees exposed even after every Microsoft patch has been applied.
How CTTS Helps You Find an MSP Near Me You Can Trust With Your Data
When business owners search for an MSP near me, what they are usually really looking for is a partner who treats their Microsoft 365 tenant like it deserves ongoing attention, not a one time setup and then radio silence. At CTTS, that means we do not just confirm your systems are patched. We regularly review who has access to what across SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams, and we flag the shares, guest accounts, and permission grants that have quietly outlived their purpose.
We also make sure Copilot and other AI features are rolled out deliberately rather than by default. That means reviewing what each role in your company can actually search and summarize before flipping the switch, not after something goes wrong. And because vulnerabilities like SearchLeak get patched on Microsoft's timeline, not yours, we monitor for critical Microsoft 365 advisories and confirm your tenant has received the fix rather than waiting for you to read about it in the news.
Building a Cleaner, Safer Microsoft 365 Tenant in 2026
Audit Sharing Links on a Regular Schedule
Anyone who has used SharePoint or OneDrive for more than a year almost certainly has active anyone with the link shares they have forgotten about. Microsoft's Purview Data Security Posture Management tooling, which reached general availability earlier this year, can surface overshared links across an entire tenant and let an administrator disable them in bulk. The tool only helps, though, if someone is actually running it and reviewing the results on a set cadence rather than once and never again.
Treat Copilot Access Like Any Other Privileged Tool
Copilot does not create new data exposure on its own. It searches and summarizes what a user already has permission to see, which is exactly why permission sprawl turns a helpful assistant into a fast, quiet way to surface everything at once. Before turning Copilot on for a department, ask what that group can currently access and whether that access still matches their actual job.
Offboard Access as Carefully as You Onboard It
Departing employees are one of the most common sources of orphaned access in Microsoft 365. A thorough offboarding checklist should confirm that OneDrive content is reassigned, shared links tied to that person are reviewed, and any external sharing they set up is either transferred to a current employee or closed.
Patch on a Schedule, Not on Headlines
Most businesses only hear about a critical Microsoft 365 vulnerability after a tech outlet writes about it, which means they are already behind. A managed patching schedule closes that gap by applying and confirming critical updates as Microsoft releases them, so your team is protected before a story like SearchLeak ever makes the news.
Back Up What Microsoft Does Not
Microsoft secures the infrastructure behind Exchange Online, SharePoint, and Teams, but recovering from accidental deletion, a compromised account, or a permissions mistake is the customer's responsibility under the shared responsibility model. A dedicated SaaS backup for Microsoft 365 closes that gap and is worth far less than the cost of losing a single client folder for good.
Take the Next Step
You do not have to sort through SharePoint permissions or Copilot rollout decisions alone. CTTS works with business owners across New Braunfels, San Marcos, Buda, Austin, and the surrounding Central Texas communities to review Microsoft 365 tenants, close the quiet gaps that vulnerabilities like SearchLeak are built to exploit, and keep your data protected without slowing your team down.
If you are ready for an MSP that treats your Microsoft 365 environment as an ongoing responsibility rather than a one time project, schedule a free strategy session with CTTS today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was my business affected by the Microsoft 365 Copilot SearchLeak vulnerability?
Microsoft patched CVE-2026-42824 in June 2026, and tenants that receive standard Microsoft 365 updates should already have the fix applied. The bigger question for most businesses is not whether this specific bug touched them, but whether their broader SharePoint and OneDrive permissions would limit damage from the next vulnerability like it. A managed IT partner can confirm your patch status and review your sharing permissions at the same time.
How do I know if my SharePoint or OneDrive has oversharing problems?
Most businesses that have used Microsoft 365 for more than a year or two have some combination of stale anyone with the link shares, guest accounts that should have been removed, and departments with access to files they no longer need. Microsoft's Purview Data Security Posture Management tool can surface these issues across a tenant, but someone still needs to review the findings and act on them regularly.
Is it safe to turn on Microsoft 365 Copilot for my whole company at once?
Not without reviewing access first. Copilot only searches and summarizes what a signed in user already has permission to see, so if your permissions are cluttered or outdated, Copilot will surface that clutter faster and more broadly than a person searching manually ever would. Reviewing access role by role before rollout is the safer path.
Contact CTTS today for IT support and managed services in Austin, TX. Let us handle your IT so you can focus on growing your business. Visit CTTSonline.com or call us at (512) 388-5559 to get started!