Join Our Microsoft Security Community
Want to help defend the world against cyber attacks? We want you to influence our designs, plans, and guidance so we can have a global impact together. That's why we need your participation in our security community. Please join our email list to be notified about the upcoming webinars, events, and other announcements. Upcoming Webinars OCTOBER 16 (8:00 AM - 9:00 AM) Security Copilot Skilling Series | What's New in Copilot in Microsoft Purview Join us for an insider’s look at the latest innovations in Microsoft Purview —where alert triage agents for DLP and IRM are transforming how we respond to sensitive data risks and improve investigation depth and speed. We’ll also dive into powerful new capabilities in Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) with Security Copilot, designed to supercharge your security insights and automation. Whether you're driving compliance or defending data, this session will give you the edge. Don’t miss it! OCTOBER 21 (8:00 AM - 9:00 AM) Microsoft Sentinel | UEBA and New Data Sources for UEBA Analytics and Anomalies Join us to explore how Microsoft Sentinel’s AI-powered User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) is transforming security operations. Now with expanded support for new log sources - including multi-cloud environments and Okta identity provider - UEBA helps you uncover hidden threats by surfacing anomalies, actionable insights, and rich security context across users, devices, and raw logs. Learn how to leverage UEBA to strengthen your organization’s coverage and efficiency during investigation, hunting and detection authoring. OCTOBER 22 (8:00 AM - 9:00 AM) Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps | App Governance in Action: Preventing OAuth Exploits in Salesforce and Beyond In this session, we’ll walk through: Real-world attack paths and how they exploit OAuth apps How App Governance helps detect, disrupt, and prevent these threats Best practices for securing your app ecosystem New features that enhance proactive posture management OCTOBER 29 (8:00 AM - 9:00 AM) Microsoft Intune | Modern Android Policy Made Easy with Intune Settings Catalog Discover the modern way to configure Android devices in Microsoft Intune. In this session, we’ll show you how the Settings catalog streamlines policy creation, highlight recent feature additions, and explain where familiar settings from older templates now live. Learn how this unified experience makes managing Android devices easier and more flexible. OCTOBER 30 (8:00 AM - 9:00 AM) Security Copilot Skilling Series | What's New in Copilot in Microsoft Intune Join us to learn about the latest Security Copilot capabilities in Microsoft Intune. We will discuss what's new and how you can supercharge your endpoint management experience with the new AI capabilities in Intune. OCTOBER 30 (8:00 AM - 9:30 AM) Microsoft em português | Proteja Nosso Mundo: Vozes da Linha de Frente (Protect Our World: Voices from the Frontline) No mês da conscientização em cibersegurança, participe deste bate-papo com especialistas da Microsoft sobre proteção digital para todos! Dicas práticas, tendências de IA, perguntas e respostas e demonstrações reais de defesa contra ameaças. In Cybersecurity Awareness Month, join this chat with Microsoft experts about digital protection for everyone! Practical tips, AI trends, Q&A, and real demonstrations of defense against threats. NOVEMBER 4 (8:00 AM- 9:00 AM) Sentinel to Defender | Your Path to the Unified SOC Experience - Episode 1 EPISODE 1: Prepare for Take-off: Why Move and How to Get Ready. Understand the benefits, architectural changes, and prerequisites for a successful transition. This session is one of a 3-part technical webinar series designed to guide security teams through the transition from Microsoft Sentinel to the unified Microsoft Defender portal. NOVEMBER 4 (9:00 AM-10:00 AM) Microsoft Sentinel | Introduction to Sentinel data lake for Developers Discover how Sentinel data lake empowers developers with seamless integrations, practical demos, and clear steps to get started. Join us for an exclusive session introducing the Sentinel data lake, the foundation for scalable security analytics and innovation in Microsoft Sentinel. NOVEMBER 5 (8:00 AM - 9:00 AM) 425 Show | Using AI to optimize Conditional Access policies Learn about you can leverage AI to improve and enhance your Conditional Access policies, identify coverage drift, and even discover policies that are causing spikes in sign-in failures. All courtesy of the Conditional Access Optimization Agent, part of Security Copilot! NOVEMBER 5 (9:00 AM - 10:00 AM) Microsoft Sentinel | Adopting Unified Custom Detections in Microsoft Sentinel via the Defender Portal: Now Better Than Ever Join us for an in-depth session designed to help SOC professionals and security engineers to maximize the benefits from the integration of Microsoft Sentinel into the defender portal. This webinar will showcase the latest enhancements in Unified Custom Detections and how you can adopt them to maximize detection value. NOVEMBER 11 (8:00 AM - 9:00 AM) Sentinel to Defender | Your Path to the Unified SOC Experience - Episode 2 EPISODE 2: Hands On – Onboarding and Configuration Deep Dive Follow along as we onboard workspaces, configure data connectors, and migrate analytics rules and automation. This is session two of a three-part technical webinar series designed to guide security teams through the transition from Microsoft Sentinel to the unified Microsoft Defender portal. NOVEMBER 11 (8:00 AM - 9:00 AM) Microsoft Purview | New Content Explorer for Cases in Insider Risk management Insider Risk Management is launching a new content explorer as part of the Cases experience. This content explorer expands on the existing capabilities with more advanced filtering, grouping options, document preview, column customization, and time zone selection. NOVEMBER 12 (8:00 AM - 9:00 AM) Azure Network Security | Zero Trust - Defense in Depth with Azure Firewall and Azure WAF In today’s threat landscape, securing web applications requires more than traditional network boundaries and demands a layered, Zero Trust approach. Join us for this webinar as we explore how Azure Firewall and Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF) work together to deliver defense in depth for modern cloud-native applications. Learn how to strengthen your network posture with real-time threat detection, granular access controls, and intelligent traffic filtering. NOVEMBER 17 (8:00 AM - 9:00 AM) Sentinel to Defender | Your Path to the Unified SOC Experience - Episode 3 EPISODE 3: SOC Ready – Investigate, Hunt, and Respond Like a Pro Learn how analysts can leverage the unified portal for incident management, advanced hunting, and daily SOC operations. This is the final session of a three-part technical webinar series designed to guide security teams through the transition from Microsoft Sentinel to the unified Microsoft Defender portal. DECEMBER 2 (9:00 AM - 10:00 AM) Microsoft Sentinel and Microsoft Defender XDR | Empowering the Modern SOC Microsoft is simplifying the SecOps experience and delivering innovation that will allow your team to scale in new ways. Join us for actionable learnings to help your team modernize your operations and enhance protection of your organization. RESCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 4 (9:00 AM- 10:00 AM) Microsoft Sentinel | What's New in the Past 6 Months Join us for an insightful session on “What’s New in Microsoft Sentinel.” We’ll spotlight the latest innovations and enhancements, including improvements to the Defender portal that deepen its integration with Microsoft Sentinel. We’ll also explore how data lake capabilities are evolving to support more scalable and flexible security operations. Expect demos, real-world use cases, and a discussion on why these updates matter to our customers. Don’t miss out if you want to stay ahead of what’s new and what’s next! DECEMBER 9 (8:00 AM - 9:00 AM) Microsoft Defender XDR | A Deep Dive into Automated Attack Disruption Uncover the value of automated attack disruption and how it delivers protection without the complexity. Join the Automatic Attack Disruption team for an exclusive deep dive into these powerful capabilities. You’ll get a front-row seat to a demo, explore the latest innovations, a look at future investments and have your questions answered directly by the experts. Don’t miss this chance to see effortless protection in action. DECEMBER 10 (8:00 AM - 9:00 AM) Azure Network Security | Deep Dive into Azure DDoS Protection Join us for an in-depth exploration of Azure DDoS Protection and learn how to safeguard your applications and infrastructure against distributed denial-of-service attacks. This session will walk through the end-to-end architecture and planning considerations, dive into the detection and mitigation flow, and showcase telemetry, analytics, and alerting best practices. We’ll also cover how Azure DDoS Protection integrates with first-party services to deliver seamless protection and visibility across your environment. Videos, Webinar Recordings & Decks Subscribe to our YouTube channel. A complete list of past webinar recordings and decks can be found here. For security documentation click here. Private Community Customer Connection Programs We offer several customer connection programs within our private communities. By signing up, you can help us shape our products through activities such as reviewing product roadmaps, participating in co-design, previewing features, and staying up-to-date with announcements. Sign up at aka.ms/JoinCCP. Upcoming Events & Announcements TBA Blogs & Forums Got questions or feedback? Check out our blogs and forums where you can see the latest product developments and speak directly to our engineering teams, and see the latest product developments. GitHub Azure Network Security GitHub Microsoft Defender for Cloud GitHub Microsoft Sentinel GitHub Microsoft Defender XDR GitHub Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps GitHub Microsoft Defender for Identity Microsoft Purview LinkedIn We have a general discussion group on LinkedIn Ninja Trainings Azure Network Security Microsoft 365 Advanced eDiscovery Microsoft Copilot for Security Microsoft Defender XDR Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management Microsoft Defender for Cloud Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Microsoft Defender Experts Microsoft Defender for Identity Microsoft Defender for IoT Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle & Records Management Microsoft Purview Information Protection Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention Microsoft Purview Communication Compliance Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager Microsoft Sentinel Microsoft Sentinel Notebooks Microsoft Unified SOC PlatformDon't miss the moment: FY26 is the year to align, accelerate, and win with Microsoft
The moment is now. For digital native software development companies and startups bringing AI solutions to our joint customers, growth in partnership with Microsoft isn’t just about gaining speed and reach, it's about strategically aligning with purpose. I know that every deal is gold, having hustled building partnerships at both startups and global software development companies myself. I’ve felt the urgency to unlock Microsoft’s strengths: incentives, access to Microsoft field sellers and ecosystem, and the power of showing up “better together” in the market. You need to move fast, but with intention. Now at Microsoft, I stay focused on what drives results: testing strategies, leveraging programs and incentives and continued learning from other experts in our ecosystem. My advice? When you get the chance to learn from those experts—take it. The partners who align their vision with Microsoft’s AI-first, marketplace-driven future are the ones who will scale fastest and furthest. “AI is the new runtime.” That’s how Microsoft framed the opportunity at the AI Tour earlier this year — and it wasn’t just rhetoric. In the past 12 months, more than 3,000 AI apps and agents have launched in the new Microsoft Marketplace, attracting 6 million monthly visitors and driving 2× year-over-year growth in AI transactions. For digital native software companies, the message is clear: align your solutions with Microsoft’s AI-first, marketplace-driven ecosystem, or risk being left behind. In just a few weeks, leaders from across the partner ecosystem — software development companies, GSIs, MSPs, distributors, and consultants — will gather in Reston, Virginia for Ultimate Partner® LIVE. For software-first companies, this event arrives at the exact moment when Microsoft is reshaping the partner landscape for FY26 and beyond. Microsoft’s shifting landscape: What’s changed since July 2025 Marketplace at scale Microsoft unified AppSource and Azure Marketplace into the new Microsoft Marketplace. More than 3,000 AI apps and agents are now live, with 6M+ monthly visitors. Microsoft reports 2× year-over-year growth in AI solution purchases through Marketplace. Partner programs re-architected for AI At MCAPS Start FY26, Microsoft expanded the AI Cloud Partner Program with new specializations — including Copilot — and streamlined recognition around three areas: AI Business Solutions, Cloud & AI Platforms, and Security. Microsoft is urging partners to adopt agentic AI — autonomous workflows and composable agents — as the foundation of innovation. Compliance and governance tightened Partner-of-Record validation now enforced for CSP orders. MFA is mandatory across Partner Center (UI enforced Aug 2025; API April 2026). The AI Cloud Partner Program Agreement updated as of Sept 2025. For software companies, the implication is straightforward: be AI-ready, transactable, and compliant — or risk losing ground. Why Ultimate Partner Reston matters Ultimate Partner LIVE will bring these shifts into focus. The agenda features voices across the ecosystem delivering the insights you can’t get anywhere else. Key sessions include: Microsoft’s Erwin Visser, Matt Berg, and Harman Cheema unpacking FY26 priorities and the role of AI in customer transformation. Cisco’s Aly Shivji and Commvault’s Sanjay Mehta on driving outcomes through stronger partnering. Elastic’s Darryl Peek, Cohesity’s Shane Wilson, ServiceNow’s Tarek Shamounki, and Canalys’ Jay McBain on what it takes to win in 2026 and beyond. Workshops from WorkSpan, PartnerTap, Carve Partners, AvePoint, RevStacker, and Digitalzone, offering frameworks that top partners usually guard as competitive advantage. Why FY26 demands urgency from digital native software companies Early movers capture momentum. Partners publishing solutions now are compounding growth through marketplace and co-sell. Gateways are narrowing. Microsoft’s designations and compliance requirements filter who gets field visibility and GTM support. Agentic AI is the new baseline. Customers expect more than AI add-ons — they want autonomous, composable, outcome-focused solutions. Co-sell is non-negotiable. Microsoft’s field sellers are incentivized on it. If you’re not aligned, you’re not in the motion. Final word For digital native software companies, FY26 represents a massive opportunity. Microsoft is doubling down on AI, marketplace, and co-sell motions — and those who align early will define the next wave of growth. Reston isn’t just about attending an event. It’s about stepping into Microsoft’s AI-driven future, connecting with the leaders shaping it, and walking away with the playbooks to lead. ⭐SPECIAL OFFER As a valued Microsoft partner, Ultimate Partner is offering a 15% discount on general passes to experience UP LIVE⭐ 👉 [Register Now for UP LIVE: Reston] USE CODE: ULTIMATEVIP15 at checkout See you there!
Certified Software Designations: FY26 Benefits Updates
If you are a software development company selling through the Microsoft commercial marketplace, don’t miss this office hours session. Learn how to stand out to Microsoft customers and sellers -- and unlock the top-tier of benefits available to software development company partners. Walk away with a better understanding of: Certified software designation: What it is and why it matters FY26 updates: New benefits and incentives for designated partners Getting started: Steps to begin your designation journey Where can I access the deck? Click here to download the slides presented in this session of Office Hours. When is the next Office Hours session? Bookmark the Marketplace Community for announcements about upcoming Office Hours events.Office hours for partners: Marketplace rewards for FY26
If you are a software company or channel partner selling through the Microsoft commercial marketplace, don’t miss our first Office Hours session of the new fiscal year! We start with an update on Marketplace Rewards for channel partners, which is now generally available for FY26. We then dive into the following topics and answer your questions live: Marketplace Rewards benefit tiers and changes from the pilot program Essential tips for utilizing Microsoft Azure Sponsorship to win multiparty private offer deals Lessons learned from successful partners Where can I access the deck? Click here to download the slides presented in this session of Office Hours. When is the next Office Hours session? Bookmark the Marketplace Community for announcements about upcoming Office Hours events.How to structure your Microsoft Partner Center account for long term success
A well-defined Microsoft Partner Center account is critical for smooth operations, marketplace success, and an overall better experience in the portal. But with multiple configuration options, identifiers, and account relationships to understand, it’s easy to get lost in the details. In this discussion, we’ll walk through how to set up and organize your Microsoft Partner Center account for operational efficiency and marketplace success. What we will cover Understand account structures and publisher configurations Working with important identifiers used in account management and support scenarios Scenarios and best practices for long-term successful management of your accounts By the end, you’ll know exactly how to structure your Microsoft Partner Center account so that it supports your organization’s needs today and scales with you as you grow in the Microsoft ecosystem. Ready to optimize your Partner Center account? Join us November 4th at 9:00 AM PST to learn more and ask questions. How do I participate? Select “Add to calendar” to save the date, then click the “Attend” button to save your spot, receive event reminders, and participate in the Q&A. If you can’t make the live event, don’t worry. You can post your questions in advance and catch up on the answers and insights later in the week. This session will be recorded and available on demand immediately after airing. Where do I post my questions? Scroll to the bottom of this page and select “Comment.” This event will feature AI-generated captions during the live broadcast. Human-generated captions and a recap of the Q&A will be available by the end of the week.Build enterprise-ready AI agents with confidence: Microsoft AI agent envisioning series
In today’s fast-paced software landscape, keeping up with new technologies and frameworks to build secure, scalable, and enterprise-ready AI apps and agents is more critical—and more complex—than ever. The Microsoft AI Agent Envisioning Series is a four-part webinar experience designed to equip software development companies with the frameworks, tools, and strategies needed to build, publish and monetize AI agents using Azure AI Foundry and the Microsoft Marketplace. Whether you're launching new solutions or evolving existing ones, this series will help you accelerate development, ensure compliance, and scale with confidence. Why Attend? Software companies are racing to deliver intelligent, autonomous solutions that scale. But building commercially viable AI agents that are secure, compliant, and enterprise-ready is no small feat. That’s why we created the Microsoft AI Agent Envisioning Series—a webinar series designed to help you build, publish, and monetize AI agents using Azure AI Foundry, with your preferred coding practices and standards. What You’ll Gain Each session delivers step-by-step guidance, technical best practices, and business strategy to help you: Architect AI agents for real-world business impact Package and publish your solution on the Microsoft Marketplace Build trust with enterprise customers through security and compliance Monetize with confidence using proven go-to-market frameworks The Sessions *It is not required to take the sessions in order. Session 1: Introduction to AI Agent Opportunities and Azure AI Foundry Explore the evolution from general LLMs to specialized agents. Learn how Azure AI Foundry simplifies development and unlocks new monetization paths. Session 2: Architecting AI Solutions for Marketplace Monetization Use the Marketplace Lean Canvas to define your agent’s value. Learn how to optimize cost, select models, and align pricing with customer outcomes. Session 3: Publishing & Releasing Your AI Agent Solution Get your solution marketplace-ready. Learn how to configure SaaS and container offers, meet compliance requirements, and find your buyers. Session 4: Winning Customer Confidence with Trustworthy AI and Production-Ready Architecture Dive into the Azure Well-Architected Framework for AI. Learn how to implement observability, tracing, and enterprise-grade security. Built for Software Development Companies Whether you're building net-new agents or transforming existing apps, this series will help you: Accelerate development with Azure AI Foundry templates and SDKs Ensure compliance with SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO 27001 Publish confidently with Partner Center and Marketplace certification Scale globally with Azure’s infrastructure and co-sell programs Ready to Build AI Agents That Scale? Join us and get the frameworks, tools, and strategies to build AI agents that enterprises trust, IT departments approve, and customers love. Register now for the AI Envisioning Day to access all the sessions and start your journey from idea to customer impact.Ultimate Partner LIVE Fall 2025: AI ecosystem masterclass & partner success summit
Mark your calendars! Ultimate Partner LIVE Fall is coming to the Washington, D.C. area, October 27-29, and this event presents a unique, high-impact opportunity for partners looking to stay ahead of the tectonic shifts, align priorities, and accelerate performance in 2026. We are taking the ecosystem to Carahsoft's facilities for a masterclass in how to become the Ultimate Partner. With immersive workshops, direct access to decision-makers, and a curated executive audience; you’ll accelerate your strategy to new levels. Here is what you can expect: Decode the Tectonic Shifts: Learn how AI, Marketplaces, Co-Selling, and Ecosystems are reshaping partner success — and what you must do now. Hear directly from Microsoft leaders, Erwin Visser, Matt Berg and Wole Moses who will take you through the exciting $450B+ durable cloud budget flowing through marketplaces, FY26 AI priorities, and where you should align. Access Proven Frameworks & Playbooks: Attendees will also participate in hands-on workshops facilitated by top industry experts including: The Odigo Group, Carve Partners, ISSI, AvePoint, Bridge Partners, Digitalzone, WorkSpan, Revstacker and more! Workshops will focus on co-selling, AI marketing strategy and Building Service Models to grow revenue. Be in the Room with Leaders Network with 200+ executives, thought leaders, ISVs, GSIs, MSPs, distributors, and consultants in an intimate, high impact setting. 40+ amazing speakers will share their secrets to successful partnering! ⭐SPECIAL OFFER As a valued Microsoft partner, Ultimate Partner is offering a 15% discount on general passes to experience UP LIVE⭐ 👉 [Register Now for UP LIVE: Reston] USE CODE: ULTIMATEVIP15 at checkout Hope to see you there, Vince Menzione CEO, Ultimate Partner ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ultimate Partner is the go-to destination for technology leaders and partners aiming to thrive in the Hyperscaler ecosystem. Ultimate Partner delivers high-impact content, expert insights, and exclusive events—both live and digital. Our mission is to “Empower technology leaders to achieve their greatest results through successful partnering”. Learn moreMicrosoft Azure Migrate & Modernization Summit recap: Product announcements on agentic AI tooling
On September 23rd, Microsoft hosted its digital Migrate and Modernize Summit, where it announced new agentic AI tooling capabilities and richer investments for customers and partners on migration and modernization opportunities. In case you missed the event, here is a summary of the announcements and a link to the on-demand recording (registration required) Azure Migrate announced new agentic capabilities along with simplified, connected workflows that can help customers move faster and work smarter (Private Preview). GitHub Copilot announced new autonomous AI agent capabilities (GA) to help accelerate modernization and upgrades of Java and .NET apps. This capability reduces complexity and time to modernization from weeks to days, empowering developers to modernize apps drastically faster, with less risk and greater confidence. Azure Accelerate was announced to customers as the new Azure offering that brings together Azure Migrate and Modernize, Azure Innovate, and Cloud Accelerate Factory under one umbrella. The session highlighted the expanded and richer benefits and investments across the entire project lifecycle, with particular mention to benefits around migrating and modernizing to Azure. Learn more: If you’re curious to learn more about the capabilities and investments launched for migrating and modernizing to Azure, check out the resources below. Azure Migrate Announcement Capabilities GitHub Copilot App Mod Capabilities Azure Accelerate Announcement blog: aka.ms/mmsannouncement Azure Migrate Deep-Dive Blog: https://aka.ms/azm/news Azure Database Deep-Dive Blog: aka.ms/ databases_migratemodernizesummit Announcement blog: aka.ms/mmsannouncement GitHub App Mod Deep-Dive Blog: aka.ms/ghcp-appmod/blog GitHub App Mod solution page: App Modernization Solutions | GitHub · GitHub GitHub Changelog: aka.ms/ghcp-appmod/changelog Azure Accelerate announcement blog Azure Accelerate home page Azure Architecture blog Ready to engage with these capabilities or investments? Explore Azure Accelerate and connect with a Microsoft sales lead today.MGCI General Session AM - Sept 2025 - Harnessing Microsoft Copilot: Empowering Global Communities
Learn along with your community peers! Join Host Heather Cook for our Monthly Microsoft Global Community Initiative (#MGCI) General session – and we'd love for you to join the conversation! All are welcome! Agenda: MGCI Program updates Subcommittee updates from MGCI Board Members Guest Speaker Topic: Harnessing Microsoft Copilot: Empowering Global Communities with AI Host: Heather Cook, Principal PM, Microsoft Customer Advocacy Group, Microsoft Guest Speaker: Nikkia Carter, CTO, Sesa Technologies, Microsoft MVP, MGCI Regional Leader Microsoft Copilot is transforming how people work, connect, and innovate by putting AI into the hands of individuals and communities worldwide. This session explores practical strategies and real-world stories that show how Copilot drives inclusion, accelerates impact, and empowers global communities to achieve more together. 📅 Sept 16 ⏰ 8:00 AM PT https://aka.ms/MGCIMtgAM Bring your ideas too! Let’s share, learn, and capture best practices for producing events. Sign up to receive our newsletter and reminders for our meetings: https://aka.ms/MGCISignUP Learn about the Microsoft Global Community Initiative: https://aka.ms/MGCI Post-event all meetings are available on demand. Microsoft Community Learning YouTube channel: https://aka.ms/community/learningCelebrating Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Everyday Protection with Microsoft 365
Every October, people around the world- from students and parents to large organizations and governments- take time to strengthen their online safety habits and learn how to protect their digital lives. Microsoft’s pledge to our customers and our community is to prioritize your cybersafety above all else. Whether you're running a Fortune 100 company, shopping online, or helping your kids with homework, we’re here to help you stay one step ahead of cyber threats. Our goal is simple: to give you the tools, tips, and confidence to be cybersmart every day. The Evolving Threat Landscape In the past year, online threats have become more aggressive and harder to spot: Phishing scams are everywhere—fraudsters now mimic trusted brands to trick you into giving up passwords or personal info. Fraudulent websites are deceptive and often mimic legitimate businesses or government agencies, luring users into sharing sensitive information like passwords or credit card numbers. Identity theft is on the rise, with criminals using leaked personal data to open fake accounts or impersonate you online. These attacks are fast, sneaky, and can be powered by artificial intelligence. That’s why you need to have a security-first mindset. Today, you need always-on protection that can spot suspicious behavior, predict hacker tactics, and respond quickly—before damage is done. Microsoft’s Commitment to Security Every time you check your email, save a photo, or browse the web, Microsoft’s security ecosystem is working behind the scenes to keep you safe. Microsoft analyzes over 84 trillion signals daily—from devices, emails, and cloud activity—to detect threats and protect your personal data. Millions of people trust Microsoft to help secure their digital lives, whether they’re managing finances, helping kids with homework, or staying connected with loved ones. Through our Secure Future Initiative, we’re investing in smarter, faster protection—powered by over 30,000 engineers focused on identity safety, threat detection, and cloud security. This means that whether you're using Outlook to email a friend, OneDrive to store family memories, or your phone to shop online, you're backed by the same advanced security that protects global organizations—tailored for your everyday life. Microsoft 365: Everyday Online Protection in Action Microsoft 365 and its suite of apps are here to keep you safer online: Microsoft Defender for Individuals¹ ²: Get peace of mind with a proactive online security solution to protect your family’s identities³, data, and devices from hackers and scammers. Outlook: Keep your emails safer – automatically scan⁴ emails for viruses and malware from unsafe links and attachments or encrypt⁴ your sensitive emails. OneDrive: Save your photos, videos, and files securely to OneDrive and keep them protected with ransomware detection and file recovery⁴. Personal Vault provides another layer of protection for your most sensitive files. Security Is a Shared Responsibility Technology plays a big role in keeping you safe online—but it’s not the whole story. You are the first and last line of defense. This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, take simple steps to protect yourself and your family: Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all your accounts to add an extra layer of security. Keep your devices and apps updated so you’re protected against the latest threats. Use strong, unique passwords—and consider a password manager to help keep track. Take advantage of built-in security tools like Defender, Outlook, and OneDrive to help safeguard your personal phones and computers, data, emails, and files. Together, we can build a safer digital world. When each of us takes action, we raise the bar against cyber threats. Let’s make online safety a daily habit—for ourselves and those we care about. Explore our Cybersecurity Awareness Month resources for best practices on how to be cybersmart, which includes articles on AI safety, phishing, fraud, cybersecurity 101, and more. We also include cybersecurity learning paths, certification opportunities, and the latest insights about threat intelligence and cybersecurity developments, including tools like the Be Cybersmart Kit. Cybersecurity first, stay safe always. Happy Cybersecurity Awareness Month! References 1 – Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, or Premium subscription is required. 2 – Microsoft Defender is currently not available in certain regions. 3 – Available in the US and US territories only. Your device's primary display language must be set to English. 4 – Microsoft 365 Basic, Personal, Family, or Premium subscription is required.
