Microsoft Adds Teams Policy Requiring Approval for External Bots
Summary
Microsoft added a Teams admin policy that detects potential external bots, places them in the meeting lobby, and requires organizer approval before they can join—even when other participants can bypass the lobby.
Key points
- The Teams policy detects potential third-party bots and identifies them in the meeting lobby for organizer approval.
- Bot approval remains required even when a meeting allows other participants to bypass the lobby.
- Admins can assign the policy to individual users or groups.
- Microsoft plans allow lists, controls to block external bots, and admin reports and audit logs.
- The policy is intended to help prevent malicious apps from joining meetings unnoticed and reduce social-engineering risks.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Security feature announcement
- Impact
- Microsoft introduced a Teams admin policy that places detected third-party bots in the meeting lobby and requires organizer approval before they can join, including when other participants may bypass the lobby. The policy gives organizations greater control over external meeting participants and is intended to reduce abuse by malicious apps and support safeguards against social engineering and unauthorized access. Microsoft said it plans additional controls, including bot allow lists, blocking policies, reports, and audit logs.