How do I implement a Zero Trust security model for my Microsoft remote workforce?

Digital empathy should guide your Zero Trust implementation Zero Trust has always been key to maintaining business continuity. And now, it’s become even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic to helping enable the largest remote workforce in history. While organizations are empowering people...

Lessons learned from the Microsoft SOC—Part 3d: Zen and the art of threat hunting

Threat hunting is a powerful way for the SOC to reduce organizational risk, but it’s commonly portrayed and seen as a complex and mysterious art form for deep experts only, which can be counterproductive. In this and the next blog we will shed light on this important function and recommend simple...

Forrester names Microsoft a Leader in 2020 Enterprise Detection and Response Wave

I’m proud to announce that Microsoft is positioned as a Leader in The Forrester Wave: Enterprise Detection and Response, Q1 2020. Among the Leaders in the report, Microsoft received the highest score in the current offering category. Microsoft also received the highest score of all participating...

Microsoft Insider Risk Management and Communication Compliance in Microsoft 365 now generally available

Microsoft Insider Risk Management and Communication Compliance in Microsoft 365—now generally available—help organizations address internal risks, such as IP theft or code of conduct policy violations. The new Microsoft Insider Risk Management solution helps to quickly identify, detect, and act o...

Building on secure productivity

Among the most common and powerful attack vectors we have seen are those that exploit the daily tradeoff users make between security and productivity. Often, this can be as simple as a document hiding an exploit or a malicious link. As an industry, we’re used to thinking of security and...

5 steps financial institutions can take to reduce their cybercrime risk

When it comes to cybersecurity, financial institutions are uniquely challenged as they are often a target for hackers. My customers rightly worry about exposing their business and the broader financial system to a security breach. Some are reticent to adopt new technology that will help them stay...

Machine learning vs. social engineering

Machine learning is a key driver in the constant evolution of security technologies at Microsoft. Machine learning allows Microsoft 365 to scale next-gen protection capabilities and enhance cloud-based, real-time blocking of new and unknown threats. Just in the last few months, machine learning h...

Cyber resilience for the modern enterprise

Many organizations are undergoing a digital transformation that leverages a mix of cloud and on-premises assets to increase business efficiency and growth. While increased dependence on technology is necessary for this transformation, and to position the business for success, it does pose risks...

IGF proves the value of bottom-up, multi-stakeholder model in cyberspace policy-making

In December, the Internet Governance Forum IGF brought the world together to talk about the internet. I tend to take a definite interest in cybersecurity, but there were many more important topics discussed. They ranged from diversity in the technology sector through to philosophy in the digital...

Typosquatted npm packages used to steal cloud and CI/CD secrets

In this article 1. Attack chain overview 1. The lure: typosquats and spoofed metadata 2. Execution: npm lifecycle hook abuse 3. Gen-1 stager: HTTP C2 beacon and payload drop 4. Gen-2 stager: abusing the legitimate Bun runtime as a loader 5. Credential theft 6. Impact and blast radius 2. Mitigatio...

Quantum-safe security: Progress towards next-generation cryptography

Quantum computing promises transformative advancements, yet it also poses a very real risk to today’s cryptographic security. In the future scalable quantum computing could break public-key cryptography methods currently in use and undermine digital signatures, resulting in compromised...

Stopping attacks against on-premises Exchange Server and SharePoint Server with AMSI

Exchange Server and SharePoint Server are business-critical assets and considered crown jewels for many organizations, making them attractive targets for attacks. To help customers protect their environments and respond to these attacks, Exchange Server and SharePoint Server now integrate with th...

Starting your journey to become quantum-safe

There’s no doubt we are living through a time of rapid technological change. Advances in ubiquitous computing and ambient intelligence transform nearly every aspect of work and life. As the world moves forward with new advancements and distributed technologies, so too does the need to understand...

DevOps threat matrix

The use of DevOps practices, which enable organizations to deliver software more quickly and efficiently, has been on the rise. This agile approach minimizes the time-to-market of new features and bug fixes. More and more companies are implementing DevOps services, each with its own infrastructur...

5 reasons to adopt a Zero Trust security strategy for your business

Adopting Zero Trust security for your enterprise is no longer a wish-list item—it’s a business imperative. The workplace today extends to almost anywhere, anytime, from any device. Siloed, patchwork security solutions leave gaps that threat actors continue to exploit. A comprehensive Zero Trust...

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 named Best Email Security Service of 2023 by SE Labs

In todays world where hybrid and remote work are on the rise, and companies rely on email now more than ever, phishing remains one of the most prominent and sophisticated techniques that malicious actors utilize to attack organizations and gain access to their most sensitive information...

Microsoft shifts to a comprehensive SaaS security solution

Software as a service SaaS apps are ubiquitous, hybrid work is the new normal, and protecting them and the important data they store is a big challenge for organizations. Today, 59 percent of security professionals find the SaaS sprawl challenging to manage1 and have identified cloud...

Microsoft Security reaches another milestone—Comprehensive, customer-centric solutions drive results

Yesterday, we shared some exciting news about the momentum we’re seeing in the security industry. Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella announced that Microsoft Security has surpassed USD20 billion in revenue. I’m grateful to all our customers and partners who have been on this journey...

​​Microsoft Entra: 5 identity priorities for 2023

Welcome to 2023. After the pandemic upended how we work, learn, play, and manage our lives, we find ourselves more connected than ever, with more convenient access to an ever-wider range of online tools and experiences. But as our global digital footprint continues to grow, so does the risk of...

Microsoft Security tips for mitigating risk in mergers and acquisitions

Sixty-two percent of organizations that undertake mergers and acquisitions face significant cybersecurity risks or consider cyber risks their biggest concern post-acquisition.1 Threat actors that focus on corporate espionage often target the acquiring company, which we will refer to as the Parent...

Microsoft recognized as a Leader in UEM Software 2022 IDC MarketScape reports

Competition for talent has increased pressure to lead in the digital space, and business decisions now weigh user experience for employees heavily among costs and benefits. Workers insist on experiences that mirror their personal experiences, often on their own devices. As enterprise computing ha...

Microsoft at RSA 2022: Envisioning the future of security

Like most of you, I was glad to see the 2022 RSA Conference return to its in-person roots after a two-year digital hiatus. This year’s event was a great success, drawing 26,000 attendees to three days of cutting-edge security sessions, tutorials, seminars, and special events at Moscone Center in...

Cybersecurity threats are always changing—staying on top of them is vital, getting ahead of them is paramount

With a 1,070 percent increase in ransomware attacks year-over-year between July 2020 and June 2021, staying on top of attack trends—such as ransomware and supply chain threats—is more important than ever.1 To successfully detect and defend against security threats, we need to come together as a...

Microsoft named a Leader in IDC MarketScape for Modern Endpoint Security for Enterprise and Small and Midsize Businesses

The security stakes have never been higher and, consequently, the protection of endpoints as a key component of any extended detection and response XDR strategy has never been more critical—for organizations of all sizes. Microsoft is thrilled to be recognized as a Leader in IDC’s MarketScape...

Iranian targeting of IT sector on the rise

Iranian threat actors are increasing attacks against IT services companies as a way to access their customers’ networks. This activity is notable because targeting third parties has the potential to exploit more sensitive organizations by taking advantage of trust and access in a supply chain...

Defend against zero-day exploits with Microsoft Defender Application Guard

Zero-day security vulnerabilities—known to hackers, but unknown to software creators, security researchers, and the public—are like gold to attackers. With zero-days, or even zero-hours, developers have no time to patch the code, giving hackers enough access and time to explore and map internal...

How to prepare for CMMC compliance as a defense industrial base supplier using the Microsoft cloud

In 2020, the US Department of Defense DoD began the phased rollout of a new framework for protecting their supply chain, known as the defense industrial base DIB. This new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification1 CMMC system requires regular audits that will bolster the security of the DIB,...

Cyberattacks targeting health care must stop

In recent months, we’ve detected cyberattacks from three nation-state actors targeting seven prominent companies directly involved in researching vaccines and treatments for COVID-19. The targets include leading pharmaceutical companies and vaccine researchers in Canada, France, India, South Kore...

Extend data loss prevention to your devices with Microsoft Endpoint Data Loss Prevention, now generally available

Microsoft Endpoint Data Loss Prevention Endpoint Data Loss Prevention DLP | What it is and how to set it up in Microsoft 365. Watch today Managing and protecting data is critical to any organization. Data is growing exponentially, and remote work is making it even harder to manage risks around...

Microsoft recognized as a Leader in the 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Information Archiving

Organizations face an increasing volume of data generated daily and ever-evolving regulations around how that data is managed. To help navigate this complex information landscape, we are focused on delivering integrated, intelligent, and user-centric solutions. Over the past few years, we...

Microsoft and Corrata integrate to extend cloud app security to mobile endpoints

This blog post is part of the Microsoft Intelligence Security Association guest blog series. To learn more about MISA, go here. The growth of mobile and remote work and the emergence of the “post perimeter” world has made keeping track of shadow IT a huge challenge for enterprise IT teams. What...

Feeling fatigued? Cloud-based SIEM relieves security team burnout

Most CISOs and CSOs are worried that a growing volume of alerts is causing burnout among their teams, according to new research from IDG. You can learn about additional challenges to security operations teams by reading the IDG report SIEM Shift: How the Cloud is Transforming Security Operations...

Securing AI agents: When AI tools move from reading to acting

In this article 1. From reading to acting 2. Attack pattern: MCP tool poisoning in a finance workflow 3. Mitigation and protection guidance 4. References 5. Learn more As enterprise deployments mature, some enterprise AI agents are shifting from reading content to taking action. In this post,...

Threat actor abuse of AI accelerates from tool to cyberattack surface

For the last year, one word has represented the conversation living at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity: speed. Speed matters, but it’s not the most important shift we are observing across the threat landscape today. Now, threat actors from nation states to cybercrime groups are embedding...

AI as tradecraft: How threat actors operationalize AI

In this article 1. AI as an enabler for cyberattacks 2. Post-compromise misuse of AI 3. Emerging trends 4. Mitigation guidance for AI-enabled threats 5. Microsoft Defender detections Threat actors are operationalizing AI along the cyberattack lifecycle to accelerate tradecraft, abusing both...

Investigating targeted “payroll pirate” attacks affecting US universities

Microsoft Threat Intelligence has observed a financially motivated threat actor that we track as Storm-2657 compromising employee accounts to gain unauthorized access to employee profiles and divert salary payments to attacker-controlled accounts. These types of attacks have been dubbed “payroll...

Microsoft ranked number one in modern endpoint security market share third year in a row

Amidst the backdrop of a surging number of ransomware campaigns worldwide, organizations have increasingly chosen Microsoft Defender’s endpoint security as their preferred solution. It’s engineered to disrupt cyberattacks and not business continuity. As a result, for a third year a row, Microsoft...

Connect with us at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit

Security professionals visiting booths scattered around a hall, eager for solutions to today’s top cybersecurity challenges to protect their resources and people. The hum of hundreds of conversations. Presenters in packed sessions sharing expertise, trends, and stories to energize attendees. Few...

​​Explore practical best practices to secure your data with Microsoft Purview​​

According to the Microsoft 2024 Data Security Index, organizations experience an average of 156 data security incidents annually, and this cyberthreat continues to be a top concern for data security decision-makers.1 A full 82% of security decision-makers believe a comprehensive, fully integrated...

Forrester names Microsoft a Leader in 2023 Infrastructure-as-a-Service Platform Native Security report

As we continue to drive toward making the world safer and more productive for all, it is vital we empower our customers to secure every aspect of their organization. Each day we are seeing more advanced security threats as bad actors develop new tactics that aim to take advantage of businesses as...

DEV-1101 enables high-volume AiTM campaigns with open-source phishing kit

Adversary-in-the-middle AiTM phishing kits are part of an increasing trend that is observed supplanting many other less advanced forms of phishing. AiTM phishing is capable of circumventing multifactor authentication MFA through reverse-proxy functionality. DEV-1101 is an actor tracked by Microso...

2022 in review: DDoS attack trends and insights

As organizations strengthen their defenses and take a more proactive approach to protection, attackers are adapting their techniques and increasing the sophistication of their operations. Cybercrime continues to rise with the industrialization of the cybercrime economy providing cybercriminals wi...

How Microsoft Purview and Priva help simplify data protection

At Microsoft Security, we understand how challenging it is to protect your most important asset, your data, in today’s threat landscape. You’re faced with evolving challenges—from empowering employees for greater productivity to eliminating gaps in your infrastructure—all while trying to protect...

How IT and security teams can work together to improve endpoint security

For executives in the IT and security spaces, the current climate offers reasons to worry. As workers become accustomed to new flexibility in the workplace, hybrid and remote work options present more challenges. Users want to access corporate resources from their own devices without the...

How to improve risk management using Zero Trust architecture

“Compliance is all about risk management and lessening risk, and the same is true of Zero Trust.” —Abbas Kudrati Whats risk management and why is it important? Risk management, the process of developing a strategy for addressing risk throughout its lifecycle, normally involves four phases: risk...

So you want to be a CISO: What you should know about data protection

Data is the lifeblood of any organization. Whether you’re a Chief Information Security Officer CISO or aspiring to become one, protecting sensitive business data will be your main priority. But the job isn’t getting any easier. In 2021, the number of data breaches climbed 68 percent to 1,862,...

How a senior product manager is leading the passwordless movement at Microsoft

May 5, 2022, is World Password Day, a day we all use to create awareness around password security. At Microsoft, we choose to celebrate replacing passwords with better and more secure ways to sign in. I can’t think of a better person at Microsoft to represent this journey than Libby Brown, a seni...

Microsoft launches Defender for Business to help protect small and medium businesses

Happy National Small Business Week1 in the United States! Small and medium businesses SMBs are the bedrock of our economy, representing 90 percent of businesses and more than 50 percent of employment worldwide.2 As we celebrate their innovation and contributions this week, it’s important to...

Learn the latest cybersecurity techniques at the Microsoft Security Summit

In a world marked by change and uncertainty, innovation is more than a nice-to-have—it’s vital to any healthy organization. But fearless innovation becomes impossible when gaps in security can put those ideas at risk. Many organizations try to increase their defenses by piecing together a patchwo...

Evolved phishing: Device registration trick adds to phishers’ toolbox for victims without MFA

We have recently uncovered a large-scale, multi-phase campaign that adds a novel technique to traditional phishing tactics by joining an attacker-operated device to an organization’s network to further propagate the campaign. We observed that the second stage of the campaign was successful agains...