Forrester names Microsoft Intune a Leader in the 2023 Forrester Wave™ for Unified Endpoint Management

Maintaining a secure and optimized digital environment allows new ideas to flourish wherever they occur. In the modern workplace, where devices and locations are no longer fixed, Microsoft Intune eases the task of managing and protecting the endpoints of businesses everywhere. It helps secure...

Cloud storage security: What’s new in the threat matrix

Today, we announce the release of a second version of the threat matrix for storage services, a structured tool that assists in identifying and analyzing potential security threats on data stored in cloud storage services. The matrix, first released in April 2021 as detailed in the blog post Thre...

Microsoft Entra expands into Security Service Edge and Azure AD becomes Microsoft Entra ID

A year ago when we announced the Microsoft Entra product family, we asked what the world could achieve if we had trust in every digital experience and interaction.1 This question inspired us to offer a vision for securing the millions and millions of connections that happen every second between...

IoT devices and Linux-based systems targeted by OpenSSH trojan campaign

Cryptojacking, the illicit use of computing resources to mine cryptocurrency, has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, with attackers building a cybercriminal economy around attack tools, infrastructure, and services to generate revenue from targeting a wide range of vulnerable systems,...

KillNet and affiliate hacktivist groups targeting healthcare with DDoS attacks

In the last year, geopolitical tension has led to an uptick of reported cybercrime events fueled by hacktivist groups. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA published an advisory to warn organizations about these attacks and teamed with the FBI on a distributed...

Detecting and preventing LSASS credential dumping attacks

Obtaining user operating system OS credentials from a targeted device is among threat actors’ primary goals when launching attacks because these credentials serve as a gateway to various objectives they can achieve in their target organization’s environment, such as lateral movement. One techniqu...

5 ways to connect with Microsoft Security at Identiverse 2022

Identiverse is where the industry gathers to discuss all things identity. The 2022 conference will take place June 21 to 24 in Denver, Colorado, and I’m absolutely thrilled that Microsoft will be there. At Identiverse, we’ll share how we help customers secure access in a hybrid, multicloud, and...

The evolution of a Mac trojan: UpdateAgent’s progression

Our discovery and analysis of a sophisticated Mac trojan in October exposed a year-long evolution of a malware family—and depicts the rising complexity of threats across platforms. The trojan, tracked as UpdateAgent, started as a relatively basic information-stealer but was observed distributing...

Learn about 4 approaches to comprehensive security that help leaders be fearless

The last 18 months have put unprecedented pressure on organizations to speed up their digital transformation as remote and hybrid work continue to become the new normal. Yet even with all the change and uncertainty, having the right security support system in place means your organization can sti...

A closer look at Qakbot’s latest building blocks (and how to knock them down)

Multiple Qakbot campaigns that are active at any given time prove that the decade-old malware continues to be many attackers’ tool of choice, a customizable chameleon that adapts to suit the needs of the multiple threat actor groups that utilize it. Since emerging in 2007 as a banking Trojan,...

MVP Health Care secures member portal access with Microsoft Azure Active Directory B2C

Hello! I’m Sue Bohn, Microsoft Vice President of Program Management for Identity and Network Access. In today’s Voice of the Customer blog post, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Security Officer David Swits of MVP Health Care shares how Microsoft Azure Active Directory B2C helped th...

3 key resources to accelerate your passwordless journey

Every organization today faces password-related challenges—phishing campaigns, productivity loss, and password management costs to name just a few. The risks now outweigh the benefits when it comes to passwords. Even the strongest passwords are easily phish-able and vulnerable to attacks, such as...

Secure unmanaged devices with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint now

As we have entered into new hybrid work environments, businesses need to think about how they will proactively protect their organizations from the influx of new or “bring your own” BYO connected devices. This new normal has exposed the most challenging cybersecurity landscape we’ve ever...

A breakthrough year for passwordless technology

As 2020 draws to a close, most of us are looking forward to putting this year in the rearview mirror. Since we depend even more on getting online for everything in our lives, we’re more than ready to be done with passwords. Passwords are a hassle to use, and they present security risks for users...

Azure Sentinel achieves a Leader placement in Forrester Wave, with top ranking in Strategy

I’m thrilled to announce Forrester Research has named Microsoft Azure Sentinel as a “Leader” in The Forrester Wave: Security Analytics Platform Providers, Q4 2020. When we released Azure Sentinel almost a year ago—the industry’s first cloud-native SIEM on a major public cloud—our goal was to...

Microsoft announces cloud innovation to simplify security, compliance, and identity

2020 will be remembered as a year of historic transformation. The pandemic has changed the way businesses operate and people work. One thing that has not changed is our basic human nature and the need to feel safe. Being safe and feeling safe is what allows us to do more, create more, and have...

11 security tips to help stay safe in the COVID-19 era

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our daily routines, the ways we work, and our reliance on technology. Many of us are now working remotely, students are attending classes virtually, and we’re relying more on social media and social networks to stay connected as we define what our new normal look...

How to secure your IoT deployment during the security talent shortage

Businesses across industries are placing bigger and bigger bets on the Internet of Things IoT as they look to unlock valuable business opportunities. But time and time again, as I meet with device manufacturers and businesses considering IoT deployments, there are concerns over the complexity of...

The language of InfoSec

As the cybersecurity industry has evolved, one dynamic has remained consistent: our industry-"speak". We use a language that is very unique, difficult for new folks to understand, and oftentimes just plain sensationalistic. While any industry has its own technical terms, our language can also be ...

Microsoft recognized as a Leader in The Forrester Wave™ for Workforce Identity Security Platforms

Identity is the backbone of modern cybersecurity. Every access decision carries risk, across employees, partners, devices, workloads, and an expanding set of AI-powered agents. But most organizations are still operating across disparate systems. Identity signals are captured in one place, access...

The four stages of creating a trust fabric with identity and network security

How implementing a trust fabric strengthens identity and network Read the blog At Microsoft, we’re continually evolving our solutions for protecting identities and access to meet the ever-changing security demands our customers face. In a recent post, we introduced the concept of the trust fabric...

New Microsoft Purview features use AI to help secure and govern all your data

In the past few years, we have witnessed how digital and cloud transformation has accelerated the growth of data. With more and more customers moving to the cloud, and with the rise of hybrid work, data usage has moved beyond the traditional borders of business. Data is now stored in multiple clo...

Cryptojacking: Understanding and defending against cloud compute resource abuse

In cloud environments, cryptojacking – a type of cyberattack that uses computing power to mine cryptocurrency – takes the form of cloud compute resource abuse, which involves a threat actor compromising legitimate tenants. Cloud compute resource abuse could result in financial loss to targeted...

Threat actors strive to cause Tax Day headaches

Threat actors often take advantage of current events and major news headlines to align attacks and leverage social engineering when people could be more likely to be distracted or misled. Tax season is particularly appealing to threat actors because not only are people busy and under stress, but ...

The art and science behind Microsoft threat hunting: Part 2

We discussed Microsoft Detection and Response Team’s DART threat hunting principles in part 1 of The art and science behind Microsoft threat hunting blog series. In this follow-up post, we will talk about some general hunting strategies, frameworks, tools, and how Microsoft incident responders wo...

Industrial systems: What it takes to secure and staff them

The security community is continuously changing, growing, and learning from each other to better position the world against cyberthreats. In the latest post of our Community Voices blog series, Microsoft Security Senior Product Marketing Manager Brooke Lynn Weenig talks with Patrick C. Miller,...

How Microsoft Security partners are helping customers do more with less

There has never been a greater demand for specialized cybersecurity expertise—or a greater opportunity for our partners to support our customers with new services and solutions. Over the last year, the permanent shift to hybrid work has empowered businesses to be remote and mobile. Increased...

Protecting multi-cloud environments with Azure Security Center

We’ve heard from many of you that multi-cloud adoption is becoming a standard operating model for your organization and that it’s challenging to have the right security controls and posture across your environment. Historically, security teams have not had effective tools to secure multi-cloud...

EDR in block mode stops IcedID cold

We are happy to announce the general availability of endpoint detection and response EDR in block mode in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. EDR in block mode turns EDR detections into real-time blocking of malicious behaviors, malware, and artifacts. It uses Microsoft Defender for Endpoint’s...

Gartner announces the 2020 Magic Quadrant for Unified Endpoint Management

I’m excited to announce that, last week, Gartner listed Microsoft as a Leader in its 2020 Magic Quadrant for Unified Endpoint Management. You can read the entire report here, and you can see a snapshot of the Magic Quadrant below. You will note that we improved on both the “Ability to Execute” an...

New data from Microsoft shows how the pandemic is accelerating the digital transformation of cyber-security

The importance of cybersecurity in facilitating productive remote work was a significant catalyst for the two years-worth of digital transformation we observed in the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this era of ubiquitous computing, security solutions don’t just sniff out threats,...

Microsoft Intelligent Security Association expands to include managed security service providers

We’d planned a splashy party at Microsoft Inspire to announce our newest Microsoft Intelligent Security Association MISA members and introduce them to association members, but given our world today, I am instead picturing you reading this announcement curled up in a chair with a cup of coffee...

Best security, compliance, and privacy practices for the rapid deployment of publicly facing Microsoft Power Apps intake forms

With the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic, state and federal agencies around the globe were looking at ways to modernize data intake for social services recipients. The government of a country of about 40 million citizens reached out to Microsoft and asked us to assist in this endeavor. Going...

Microsoft shares new threat intelligence, security guidance during global crisis

Ready or not, much of the world was thrust into working from home, which means more people and devices are now accessing sensitive corporate data across home networks. Defenders are working round the clock to secure endpoints and ensure the fidelity of not only those endpoints, but also identitie...

Real-life cybercrime stories from DART, the Microsoft Detection and Response Team

When we published our first blog about the Microsoft Detection and Response Team DART in March of 2019, we described our mission as responding to compromises and helping our customers become cyber-resilient. In pursuit of this mission we had already been providing onsite reactive incident respons...

New Microsoft Security innovations and partnerships

Today on the Official Microsoft Blog, Ann Johnson, Corporate Vice President of the Cybersecurity Solutions Group, shared how Microsoft is helping turn the tide in cybersecurity by putting artificial intelligence AI in the hands of defenders. She announced the general availability of Microsoft...

Changing the monolith—Part 1: Building alliances for a secure culture

Any modern security expert can tell you that we’re light years away from the old days when firewalls and antivirus were the only mechanisms of protection against cyberattacks. Cybersecurity has been one of the hot topics of boardroom conversation for the last eight years, and has been rapidly...

Invisible resource thieves: The increasing threat of cryptocurrency miners

The surge in Bitcoin prices has driven widescale interest in cryptocurrencies. While the future of digital currencies is uncertain, they are shaking up the cybersecurity landscape as they continue to influence the intent and nature of attacks. Cybercriminals gave cryptocurrencies a bad name when...

Sploitlight: Analyzing a Spotlight-based macOS TCC vulnerability

Microsoft Threat Intelligence has discovered a macOS vulnerability that could allow attackers to steal private data of files normally protected by Transparency, Consent, and Control TCC, such as files in the Downloads folder, as well as caches utilized by Apple Intelligence. While similar to prio...

Threat actors misuse OAuth applications to automate financially driven attacks

Threat actors are misusing OAuth applications as an automation tool in financially motivated attacks. OAuth is an open standard for token-based authentication and authorization that enables applications to get access to data and resources based on permissions set by a user. Threat actors compromi...

Forrester names Microsoft a Leader in the 2023 Enterprise Email Security Wave

In today’s rapidly evolving connected workplace, where hybrid and remote work are increasingly the norm, workplace productivity and communications tools like email and chat applications are more important than ever. However, cyberthreats continue to evolve with increasing capabilities and...

Healthy security habits to fight credential breaches: Cyberattack Series

Fifty percent of Microsoft cybersecurity recovery engagements relate to ransomware,1 and 61 percent of all breaches involve credentials.2 In this second report in our ongoing Cyberattack Series, we look at the steps taken to discover, understand, and respond to a push-bombing request that targete...

Cybersecurity health and how to stay ahead of attackers with Linda Grasso

The security community is continuously changing, growing, and learning from each other to better position the world against cyberthreats. In the latest post of our Community Voices blog series, Microsoft Security Senior Product Marketing Manager Brooke Lynn Weenig talks with Linda Grasso, the...

Solving one of NOBELIUM’s most novel attacks: Cyberattack Series

Our story begins with eight Microsoft Detection and Response Team DART analysts gathered around a customer’s conference room to solve a cybersecurity mystery. Joined by members of the customer’s cybersecurity team, they were there to figure out how a Russia-based nation-state hacking group known ...

Mitigate risk by integrating threat modeling and DevOps processes

Agile and DevOps are without any doubt two of the biggest security trends of recent years. The rapid rise of the cloud has only fueled the need for flexibility and dynamicity. Therefore, it’s natural for developers and organizations to seek methodologies and tools for addressing new requirements...

Digital event highlights new features in Microsoft Purview

Keeping your company and customer data secure has never been more complex. With multiple clouds, legacy on-premises systems, and numerous devices, it can be hard to keep track of what data you have and where it lives. On top of that, ever-changing employee roles make managing who has access to wh...

Rewards plus: Fake mobile banking rewards apps lure users to install info-stealing RAT on Android devices

Our analysis of a recent version of a previously reported info-stealing Android malware, delivered through an ongoing SMS campaign, demonstrates the continuous evolution of mobile threats. Masquerading as a banking rewards app, this new version has additional remote access trojan RAT capabilities...

New Windows 11 security features are designed for hybrid work

Attackers are constantly evolving, becoming increasingly sophisticated and destructive—the median time for an attacker to access your private data if you fall victim to a phishing email is 1 hour, 12 minutes.1 Microsoft tracks more than 35 ransomware families and more than 250 unique nation-state...

A multidimensional approach to journalism security

The security community is continuously changing, growing, and learning from each other to better position the world against cyberthreats. In the latest post of our Community Voices blog series, Microsoft Security Senior Product Marketing Manager Brooke Lynn Weenig talks with Runa Sandvik, Former...

Hardware-based threat defense against increasingly complex cryptojackers

Even with the dip in the value of cryptocurrencies in the past few months, cryptojackers – trojanized coin miners that attackers distribute to use compromised devices’ computing power for their objectives – continue to be widespread. In the past several months, Microsoft Defender Antivirus detect...