Registration Open: Community-Led Purview Lightning Talks
Get ready for an electrifying event! The Microsoft Security Community proudly presents Purview Lightning Talks; an action-packed series featuring your fellow Microsoft users, partners and passionate Microsoft Security community members of all sorts. Each 3-12 minute talk cuts straight to the chase, delivering expert insights, real-world use cases, and even a few game-changing tips and tricks. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, connect, and be inspired! Secure your spot now for the big day: April 30th at 8am Redmond Time. See agenda details below and follow this blog post (sign in and click the "follow" heart in the upper right) to receive notifications. ❗UPDATE❗This event is expected to last around 2 hours and 15 minutes, due to the incredible number of community sessions that were submitted! 💖 Please see the timing table below broken out into sections of four talks each, and plan to arrive 10 minutes before the section that interests you, OR stay for the whole time! Speakers will be available in the chat to answer your questions; please ask your questions during their session. Spillover Q&A forum links will also be shared. The full session recording will be indexed and posted to Microsoft Security Community YouTube within 24 hours after the event. Bookmark this page or follow this blog post for updates! Agenda Legend ↩️ Data Lifecycle Management 🔐 Information Protection 🚫 Data Loss Prevention (DLP) 🦾 Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) for AI 🤖 Purview for AI 👁️ Insider Risk Management (IRM) 🔍 eDiscovery 📊 Governance 🗒️ Compliance Manager 🛡️ Data Security All times are listed in US Pacific/Redmond Time. Session lengths are rounded to the nearest minute. AGENDA Section 1 - approximately 8:00 am - 8:43 am ↩️ The Day Offboarding Exposed Infinite Retention — Nikki Chapple Length: 10 minutes | Topic: Data Lifecycle Management A routine Purview request led to an unexpected discovery: more than 9,000 orphaned OneDrives and thousands of inactive mailboxes still storing content long after employees had left. This talk explains how a retain-only policy created hidden retention debt and how Adaptive Scopes can help organisations separate active users from leavers to avoid similar pitfalls. 🔐 The Purview Label Engine: Automated Classification, Translation, and co-Documentation for Enterprise Tenants — Michael Kirst-Neshva Length: 12 minutes | Topic: Information Protection Global enterprises face the challenge of implementing uniform data protection standards across borders and languages. In this talk, I’ll present a framework that makes Microsoft Purview labels truly scalable. Discover how to roll out parent and child label logics automatically, manage priorities with a single click, and generate instant compliance documentation for every business unit. 🗒️ What's In My Compliance Manager Toolbox: A Cloud Security Architect's Perspective — Jerrad Dahlager Length: 8 minutes | Topic: Compliance Manager A practical walkthrough of how I use Compliance Manager across real client engagements to map controls, track improvement actions, and simplify multi-framework compliance. No theory, just what works in the field. 🛡️ Stop, Think, Protect: Data Security in Real Life with Purview — Oliver Sahlmann Length: 8 minutes | Topic: Data Security With simple labels and matching DLP policies, Purview offers a practical and accessible way to approach data security. This lightning talk uses a real-life traffic light concept to show how a low barrier to adoption can still drive meaningful protection and awareness. Section 2 - approximately 8:44 am - 9:15 am 🔐 Using Purview to prevent oversharing with AI services — Viktor Hedberg Length: 10 minutes | Topic: Information Protection In this day and age, AI is the big thing. However, Copilot has access to everything you can access, including potentially sensitive data. In this session we will look at how to prevent Copilot to access highly sensitive data, using Information Protection. 🦾 How I Helped My Customers Understand their AI Usage (and protect their sensitive data) — Bram de Jager Length: 5 minutes | Topic: Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) for AI As AI tools explode across the web, many organizations still have no idea what’s actually happening in the browser—where employees type prompts, paste sensitive data, or visit public AI sites outside corporate governance. In this lightning talk, I’ll share how I helped customers shine a light on this issue. We’ll explore how Purview Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) can reveal which AI tools employees use, what types of data they input, and where sensitive information may leak through prompts. I’ll walk through real customer scenario where we detected risky AI usage patterns—such as employees pasting confidential documents into public chatbots. 🔐 Four Labels Max for Daily Use: Which Ones & Why? — Romain Dalle Length: 8 minutes | Topic: Information Protection Sensitivity labels are one of the most critical parts of a Purview Risk and compliance deployment, if not the most critical, because it directly impacts how end-users and business units should allow or restrict themselves to share their business data, internally and externally, on a daily basis. Labels have not other options than being precise, meaningful, and balanced in terms of embedded data security. Setting the right taxonomy is core to success, and is everything but a one-time project. 🚫 Data-driven Endpoint DLP Solution with Advanced Hunting — Tatu Seppälä Length: 8 minutes | Topic: Data Loss Prevention (DLP) This lightning talk shows you how to use KQL queries in advanced hunting to easily build initial sensitive service domain groups for authorized and unauthorized domains based on your organization's usage patterns. The same approach can be used for numerous other similar solution refinement and design purposes. Section 3 - approximately 9:16 am - 9:46 am 🔐 The Purview Hack No One Talks About: Container Sensitivity Labels That Fix Oversharing Fast — Nikki Chapple Length: 10 minutes | Topic: Information Protection Most organizations tackle oversharing with manual fixes, but the fastest solution is often overlooked. In this lightning talk, I show how container sensitivity labels automatically apply the right sharing and collaboration controls, ensuring every new Group, Team or SharePoint site starts secure by default. 🔍 Does M365 Support eDiscovery? — Julian Kusenberg Length: 11 minutes | Topic: eDiscovery A myth-busting session that separates perception from reality when it comes to Microsoft 365 eDiscovery capabilities. 📊 Improving Discovery, Trust, and Reuse of Analytics with Purview Data Products — Craig Wyndowe Length: 5 minutes | Topic: Governance This talk shows how bringing Power BI and Fabric assets into Microsoft Purview Governance Domains and Data Products creates a single, trusted view of enterprise analytics. By connecting reports, semantic models, and underlying data with shared metadata, ownership, and business context, organizations can make existing assets easy to discover and safe to reuse. 🔐 Why You Should Create Your Own Sensitive Information Types (SITs) — Niels Jakobsen Length: 5 minutes | Topic: Information Protection An in depth analysis of why Microsoft SITs are not one-size-fits-all, and how to create your own using what Microsoft has already built for you. Section 4 - approximately 9:47 am-10:30 am 👁️ From Zero to First Signal: Insider Risk Management Prerequisites That Actually Matter — Sathish Veerapandian Length: 8 minutes | Topic: Insider Risk Management (IRM) A focused live demo showing the real world prerequisites required for Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management to work effectively. This session highlights the critical Entra ID, Intune, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, and Purview DLP configurations that must be in place before creating IRM policies. 🤖 Securing data in the age of AI — Júlio César Gonçalves Vasconcelos Length: 11 minutes | Topic: Purview for AI AI will transform business as we know it; but without proper governance, it can introduce serious risks. We’ll show you how Microsoft Purview enables organizations to accelerate AI adoption while maintaining security, compliance, and transparency. 🔍 Beyond eDiscovery - Purview DSI for Security Investigation — Susantha Silva Length: 11 minutes | Topic: eDiscovery Most people hear “Microsoft Purview” and immediately think compliance, eDiscovery, or legal holds. But this session highlights Data Security Investigations, showing how DSI lets you take a DLP alert or insider risk signal and turn it into a structured investigation. 🚫 Elevating Purview DLP with a real world use case — Victor Wingsing Length: 14 minutes | Topic: Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Learn how I hardened Microsoft Purview DLP beyond out of the box defaults—closing real world data loss gaps, tuning policies to actual user behavior, and turning noisy alerts into protection that really blocks exfiltration. - Quick Closing/ Resource SharingWhy UK Enterprise Cybersecurity Is Failing in 2026 (And What Leaders Must Change)
Enterprise cybersecurity in large organisations has always been an asymmetric game. But with the rise of AI‑enabled cyber attacks, that imbalance has widened dramatically - particularly for UK and EMEA enterprises operating complex cloud, SaaS, and identity‑driven environments. Microsoft Threat Intelligence and Microsoft Defender Security Research have publicly reported a clear shift in how attackers operate: AI is now embedded across the entire attack lifecycle. Threat actors use AI to accelerate reconnaissance, generate highly targeted phishing at scale, automate infrastructure, and adapt tactics in real time - dramatically reducing the time required to move from initial access to business impact. In recent months, Microsoft has documented AI‑enabled phishing campaigns abusing legitimate authentication mechanisms, including OAuth and device‑code flows, to compromise enterprise accounts at scale. These attacks rely on automation, dynamic code generation, and highly personalised lures - not on exploiting traditional vulnerabilities or stealing passwords. The Reality Gap: Adaptive Attackers vs. Static Enterprise Defences Meanwhile, many UK enterprises still rely on legacy cybersecurity controls designed for a very different threat model - one rooted in a far more predictable world. This creates a dangerous "Resilience Gap." Here is why your current stack is failing- and the C-Suite strategy required to fix it. 1. The Failure of Traditional Antivirus in the AI Era Traditional antivirus (AV) relies on static signatures and hashes. It assumes malicious code remains identical across different targets. AI has rendered this assumption obsolete. Modern malware now uses automated mutation to generate unique code variants at execution time, and adapts behaviour based on its environment. Microsoft Threat Intelligence has observed threat actors using AI‑assisted tooling to rapidly rewrite payload components, ensuring that every deployment looks subtly different. In this model, there is no reliable signature to detect. By the time a pattern exists, the attacker has already moved on. Signature‑based detection is not just slow - it is structurally misaligned with AI‑driven attacks. The Risk: If your security relies on "recognising" a threat, you are already breached. By the time a signature exists, the attacker has evolved. The C-Suite Pivot: Shift investment from artifact detection to EDR/XDR (Extended Detection and Response). We must prioritise behavioural analytics and machine learning models that identify intent rather than file names. 2. Why Perimeter Firewalls Fail in a Cloud-First World Many UK enterprise still rely on firewalls enforcing static allow/deny rules based on IP addresses and ports. This model worked when applications were predictable and networks clearly segmented. Today, enterprise traffic is encrypted, cloud‑hosted, API‑driven, and deeply integrated with SaaS and identity services. AI‑assisted phishing campaigns abusing OAuth and device‑code flows demonstrate this clearly. From a network perspective, everything looks legitimate: HTTPS traffic to trusted identity providers. No suspicious port. No malicious domain. Yet the attacker successfully compromises identity. The Risk: Traditional firewalls are "blind" to identity-based breaches in cloud environments. The C-Suite Pivot: Move to Identity-First Security. Treat Identity as the new Control Plane, integrating signals like user risk, device health, and geolocation into every access decision. 3. The Critical Weakness of Single-Factor Authentication Despite clear NCSC guidance, single-factor passwords remain a common vulnerability in legacy applications and VPNs. AI-driven credential abuse has changed the economics of these attacks. Threat actors now deploy adaptive phishing campaigns that evolve in real-time. Microsoft has observed attackers using AI to hyper-target high-value UK identities- specifically CEOs, Finance Directors, and Procurement leads. The Risk: Static passwords are now the primary weak link in UK supply chain security. The C-Suite Pivot: Mandate Phishing‑resistant MFA (Passkeys or hardware security keys). Implement Conditional Access policies that evaluate risk dynamically at the moment of access, not just at login. Legacy Security vs. AI‑Era Reality 4. The Inherent Risk of VPN-Centric Security VPNs were built on a flawed assumption: that anyone "inside" the network is trustworthy. In 2026, this logic is a liability. AI-assisted attackers now use automation to map internal networks and identify escalation paths the moment they gain VPN access. Furthermore, Microsoft has tracked nation-state actors using AI to create synthetic employee identities- complete with fake resumes and deepfake communication. In these scenarios, VPN access isn't "hacked"; it is legally granted to a fraudster. The Risk: A compromised VPN gives an attacker the "keys to the kingdom." The C-Suite Pivot: Transition to Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA). Access must be explicit, scoped to the specific application, and continuously re‑evaluated using behavioural signals. 5. Data: The High-Velocity Target Sensitive data sitting unencrypted in legacy databases or backups is a ticking time bomb. In the AI era, data discovery is no longer a slow, manual process for a hacker. Attackers now use AI to instantly analyse your directory structures, classify your files, and prioritise high-value data for theft. Unencrypted data significantly increases your "blast radius," turning a containable incident into a catastrophic board-level crisis. The Risk: Beyond the technical breach, unencrypted data leads to massive UK GDPR fines and irreparable brand damage. The C-Suite Pivot: Adopt Data-Centric Security. Implement encryption by default, classify data while adding sensitivity labels and start board-level discussions regarding post‑quantum cryptography (PQC) to future-proof your most sensitive assets. 6. The Failure of Static IDS Traditional Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) rely on known indicators of compromise - assuming attackers reuse the same tools and techniques. AI‑driven attacks deliberately avoid that assumption. Threat actors are now using Large Language Models (LLMs) to weaponize newly disclosed vulnerabilities within hours. While your team waits for a "known pattern" to be updated in your system, the attacker is already using a custom, AI-generated exploit. The Risk: Your team is defending against yesterday's news while the attacker is moving at machine speed. The C-Suite Pivot: Invest in Adaptive Threat Detection. Move toward Graph‑based XDR platforms that correlate signals across email, endpoint, and cloud to automate investigation and response before the damage spreads. From Static Security to Continuous Security Closing Thought: Security Is a Journey, Not a Destination For UK enterprises, the shift toward adaptive cybersecurity is no longer optional - it is increasingly driven by regulatory expectation, board oversight, and accountability for operational resilience. Recent UK cyber resilience reforms and evolving regulatory frameworks signal a clear direction of travel: cybersecurity is now a board‑level responsibility, not a back‑office technical concern. Directors and executive leaders are expected to demonstrate effective governance, risk ownership, and preparedness for cyber disruption - particularly as AI reshapes the threat landscape. AI is not a future cybersecurity problem. It is a current force multiplier for attackers, exposing the limits of legacy enterprise security architectures faster than many organisations are willing to admit. The uncomfortable truth for boards in 2026 is that no enterprise is 100% secure. Intrusions are inevitable. Credentials will be compromised. Controls will be tested. The difference between a resilient enterprise and a vulnerable one is not the absence of incidents, but how risk is managed when they occur. In mature organisations, this means assuming breach and designing for containment: Access controls that limit blast radius Least privilege and conditional access restricting attackers to the smallest possible scope if an identity is compromised Data‑centric security using automated classification and encryption, ensuring that even when access is misused, sensitive data cannot be freely exfiltrated As a Senior Enterprise Cybersecurity Architect, I see this moment as a unique opportunity. AI adoption does not have to repeat the mistakes of earlier technology waves, where innovation moved fast and security followed years later. We now have a rare chance to embed security from day one - designing identity controls, data boundaries, automated monitoring, and governance before AI systems become business‑critical. When security is built in upfront, enterprises don’t just reduce risk - they gain the confidence to move faster and unlock AI’s value safely. Security is no longer a “department”. In the age of AI, it is a continuous business function - essential to preserving trust and maintaining operational continuity as attackers move at machine speed. References: Inside an AI‑enabled device code phishing campaign | Microsoft Security Blog AI as tradecraft: How threat actors operationalize AI | Microsoft Security Blog Detecting and analyzing prompt abuse in AI tools | Microsoft Security Blog Post-Quantum Cryptography | CSRC Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2025 | Microsoft https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/government-adopt-passkey-technology-digital-servicesAction Required: Transition from HTTP Data Collector API in Microsoft Sentinel
Microsoft Sentinel continues to evolve to provide more secure, scalable, and reliable data ingestion experiences. As part of this evolution, we want to remind customers and partners of an important upcoming change that may impact custom data ingestion and integrations like detection rules, playbooks etc. HTTP Data Collector API will no longer be eligible for Incident Support after September 2026 Starting September 14, 2026, connectors and tables that rely on the legacy HTTP Data Collector API will no longer be eligible for incident support in Microsoft Sentinel, consistent with Azure’s 2024 announcement. Any data sources, custom integrations, or connectors that continue to rely on the HTTP Data Collector API beyond this date may experience ingestion issues. We highly recommend customers transition to a supported ingestion alternative before this deadline, to avoid any service interruptions. Who is impacted? You may be impacted by this change if you are using: Custom-built scripts or applications that ingest data using the HTTP Data Collector API. Any custom data connectors (likely built as Azure Functions) with HTTP Collector API. Any data connector from the in-product Content Hub, provided by Microsoft or one of our partner ISVs, that will be rewritten prior to the API deprecation date. Classic custom log tables (usually marked type: Classic) created using HTTP Data Collector API. Recommended migration paths We recommend transitioning to supported, DCR‑based ingestion methods. The appropriate path depends on how data is currently ingested. 1. Update to the latest connector version in Content Hub (Recommended for most customers): For customers using Microsoft or partner‑provided connectors: Many existing connectors have been released with new versions using modern ingestion and are available as updated versions in the Content Hub. These newer versions use DCR‑based ingestion and are fully supported. 1.1 Identify the Connector Go to Microsoft Defender portal Navigate to Content Hub Search for the connector you are currently using, If your existing connector mentions HTTP Data Collector API. 1.2 Install the New CCF Connector Navigate to Content Hub Search for the same connector name Select the version labeled “(via Codeless Connector Framework)” Click Install/Update the CCF connector and complete the setup wizard (authentication, configuration, polling schedule, etc.) Note: As Microsoft Sentinel transitions to the Codeless Connector Framework (CCF), customers migrating from Azure Functions–based connectors should expect intentional architectural changes. These include new or updated table names and schemas using the Log Ingestion API, and a move to Data Collection Rules (DCRs) and Data Collection Endpoints (DCEs) for modern, governed ingestion. Both connectors may coexist temporarily; installing the CCF connector does not automatically remove the Azure Function connector. 1.3 Validate Data Ingestion Confirm new data is flowing into CCF backed tables. Monitor ingestion for a stabilization period (typically several days). Validate that Logs are flowing as expected, there are no ingestion errors and expected log volume is observed. 1.4 Migrate Dependent Content Update any workloads out of Microsoft provided content types that depend on the old Azure Function–based tables: Analytics rules Hunting queries Workbooks Playbooks / automations Parsers or custom queries 2. Logs Ingestion API (for custom applications and direct ingestion) For customers or ISV partners that ingest data directly into Sentinel tables using custom applications: The Azure Monitor Logs Ingestion API is the supported replacement for the legacy HTTP Data Collector API. Key benefits: Secure, OAuth‑based authentication Data Collection Rules (DCRs) for schema control Improved reliability, scalability, and governance Long‑term platform support Customers using custom ingestion pipelines should plan to migrate their applications to the Logs Ingestion API prior to the deprecation date. Migration Benefits (Azure Function → CCF) Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) , no infra: saves compute cost and eliminates infrastructure maintenance. One‑time modernization: clean queries (no type suffixes) and one‑time migration with no ongoing API churn. Built‑in data shaping & quality gates: transformations (filter/modify during ingestion) plus schema validation to enforce ingestion quality. Flexible routing & modern tables: multiple destinations (route to multiple tables) with modern table format for better performance/features. Governed & future‑proof ingestion: granular RBAC (DCR + identity control), Sentinel data lake mirroring / lake‑only ingestion, and Microsoft’s supported API going forward. Summary The transition from the HTTP Data Collector API to the Azure Monitor Logs Ingestion API is essential to ensure continued data ingestion and improved security. The new API provides key benefits such as OAuth‑based authentication, data filtering and transformation during ingestion, and fine‑grained RBAC. Organizations are strongly encouraged to migrate to the new API ahead of the September 14, 2026 retirement date. Support Resources: If you are an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) and you encounter any difficulty building your Microsoft Sentinel data connector, Microsoft Security's App Assure program is available to assist. Contact us at AzureSentinelPartner@microsoft.com.GenAI vs Cyber Threats: Why GenAI Powered Unified SecOps Wins
Cybersecurity is evolving faster than ever. Attackers are leveraging automation and AI to scale their operations, so how can defenders keep up? The answer lies in Microsoft Unified Security Operations powered by Generative AI (GenAI). This opens the Cybersecurity Paradox: Attackers only need one successful attempt, but defenders must always be vigilant, otherwise the impact can be huge. Traditional Security Operation Centers (SOCs) are hampered by siloed tools and fragmented data, which slows response and creates vulnerabilities. On average, attackers gain unauthorized access to organizational data in 72 minutes, while traditional defense tools often take on average 258 days to identify and remediate. This is over eight months to detect and resolve breaches, a significant and unsustainable gap. Notably, Microsoft Unified Security Operations, including GenAI-powered capabilities, is also available and supported in Microsoft Government Community Cloud (GCC) and GCC High/DoD environments, ensuring that organizations with the highest compliance and security requirements can benefit from these advanced protections. The Case for Unified Security Operations Unified security operations in Microsoft Defender XDR consolidates SIEM, XDR, Exposure management, and Enterprise Security Posture into a single, integrated experience. This approach allows the following: Breaks down silos by centralizing telemetry across identities, endpoints, SaaS apps, and multi-cloud environments. Infuses AI natively into workflows, enabling faster detection, investigation, and response. Microsoft Sentinel exemplifies this shift with its Data Lake architecture (see my previous post on Microsoft Sentinel’s New Data Lake: Cut Costs & Boost Threat Detection), offering schema-on-read flexibility for petabyte-scale analytics without costly data rehydration. This means defenders can query massive datasets in real time, accelerating threat hunting and forensic analysis. GenAI: A Force Multiplier for Cyber Defense Generative AI transforms security operations from reactive to proactive. Here’s how: Threat Hunting & Incident Response GenAI enables predictive analytics and anomaly detection across hybrid identities, endpoints, and workloads. It doesn’t just find threats—it anticipates them. Behavioral Analytics with UEBA Advanced User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) powered by AI correlates signals from multi-cloud environments and identity providers like Okta, delivering actionable insights for insider risk and compromised accounts. [13 -Micros...s new UEBA | Word] Automation at Scale AI-driven playbooks streamline repetitive tasks, reducing manual workload and accelerating remediation. This frees analysts to focus on strategic threat hunting. Microsoft Innovations Driving This Shift For SOC teams and cybersecurity practitioners, these innovations mean you spend less time on manual investigations and more time leveraging actionable insights, ultimately boosting productivity and allowing you to focus on higher-value security work that matters most to your organization. Plus, by making threat detection and response faster and more accurate, you can reduce stress, minimize risk, and demonstrate greater value to your stakeholders. Sentinel Data Lake: Unlocks real-time analytics at scale, enabling AI-driven threat detection without rehydration costs. Microsoft Sentinel data lake overview UEBA Enhancements: Multi-cloud and identity integrations for unified risk visibility. Sentinel UEBA’s Superpower: Actionable Insights You Can Use! Now with Okta and Multi-Cloud Logs! Security Copilot & Agentic AI: Harnesses AI and global threat intelligence to automate detection, response, and compliance across the security stack, enabling teams to scale operations and strengthen Zero Trust defenses defenders. Security Copilot Agents: The New Era of AI, Driven Cyber Defense Sector-Specific Impact All sectors are different, but I would like to focus a bit on the public sector at this time. This sector and critical infrastructure organizations face unique challenges: talent shortages, operational complexity, and nation-state threats. GenAI-centric platforms help these sectors shift from reactive defense to predictive resilience, ensuring mission-critical systems remain secure. By leveraging advanced AI-driven analytics and automation, public sector organizations can streamline incident detection, accelerate response times, and proactively uncover hidden risks before they escalate. With unified platforms that bridge data silos and integrate identity, endpoint, and cloud telemetry, these entities gain a holistic security posture that supports compliance and operational continuity. Ultimately, embracing generative AI not only helps defend against sophisticated cyber adversaries but also empowers public sector teams to confidently protect the services and infrastructure their communities rely on every day. Call to Action Artificial intelligence is driving unified cybersecurity. Solutions like Microsoft Defender XDR and Sentinel now integrate into a single dashboard, consolidating alerts, incidents, and data from multiple sources. AI swiftly correlates information, prioritizes threats, and automates investigations, helping security teams respond quickly with less manual work. This shift enables organizations to proactively manage cyber risks and strengthen their resilience against evolving challenges. Picture a single pane of glass where all your XDRs and Defenders converge, AI instantly shifts through the noise, highlighting what matters most so teams can act with clarity and speed. That may include: Assess your SOC maturity and identify silos. Use the Security Operations Self-Assessment Tool to determine your SOC’s maturity level and provide actionable recommendations for improving processes and tooling. Also see Security Maturity Model from the Well-Architected Framework Explore Microsoft Sentinel, Defender XDR, and Security Copilot for AI-powered security. Explains progressive security maturity levels and strategies for strengthening your security posture. What is Microsoft Defender XDR? - Microsoft Defender XDR and What is Microsoft Security Copilot? Design Security in Solutions from Day One! Drive embedding security from the start of solution design through secure-by-default configurations and proactive operations, aligning with Zero Trust and MCRA principles to build resilient, compliant, and scalable systems. Design Security in Solutions from Day One! Innovate boldly, Deploy Safely, and Never Regret it! Upskill your teams on GenAI tools and responsible AI practices. Guidance for securing AI apps and data, aligned with Zero Trust principles Build a strong security posture for AI About the Author: Hello Jacques "Jack” here! I am a Microsoft Technical Trainer focused on helping organizations use advanced security and AI solutions. I create and deliver training programs that combine technical expertise with practical use, enabling teams to adopt innovations like Microsoft Sentinel, Defender XDR, and Security Copilot for stronger cyber resilience. #SkilledByMTT #MicrosoftLearn
Secure Score - Secure Home Folders in macOS
I've performed the recommended manual remediation action (sudo chmod -R og-rw /Users/) on my Macs but Secure Score doesn't recognize it. I have noticed this occurring for a few item. We have also remediated some things through InTune but still seem to have no movement on the SecureScore. Is this a glitch within or am I missing something altogether. ThanksAnnouncing a New Microsoft Security Virtual Training Day
We’re thrilled to announce a brand-new opportunity for learning and growth: Microsoft Virtual Training Day: Strength Cloud Security with Microsoft Defender for Cloud! This free, online event is designed to empower professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in today’s digital landscape. During this training, you’ll be able to: Learn how to increase cloud security using Microsoft Defender for Cloud and how to deploy security across your DevOps workflows. Discover how to detect risks, maintain compliance, and protect hybrid and multicloud environments. Find out how to defend servers, containers, storage, and databases using built-in security. Chat with Microsoft experts—ask questions and get answers on real-world security challenges. Here’s what you can expect: Part 1 Part 2 Introduction Introduction What a comprehensive cloud-native application protection platform looks like Comprehensive workload protection (part 1) Break: 10 minutes Break: 10 minutes Starting with proactive security Comprehensive workload protection (part 2) Break: 10 minutes Automating responses Operationalizing Posture Management Closing question and answer Closing question and answer Why Attend this Virtual Training Day? Microsoft Virtual Training Days offer a host of benefits: Flexible Learning: Attend from anywhere, at your own pace. Expert Instruction: Gain insights from industry leaders and certified professionals. Certification Opportunities: Many sessions prepare you for Microsoft certifications. Networking: Connect with peers and professionals across industries. Free Resources: Access downloadable materials and follow-up learning paths. Earn a voucher: Upon completion of the event, the exam is offered at a 50% discount off the exam rate. Don't miss out on this opportunity. Go and registertoday! For more information on all things security, please visit our Security Hub.
User app registration - exploitable for BEC?
Hello. Recently dealt with a case of BEC. I'm not trained in forensics, but doing my best. Appears the hacker used an application called eM Client for their attack, getting access to a user's mailbox and hijacking a thread. I can see the login from two weeks ago (the incident was only noticed a couple days ago, however) - from a European country that SHOULD have been blocked by Conditional Access. Come to find out, the tenant conditional access was unassigned from everyone. We're not sure how - we re-enabled it, and audited changes, but the only change that appears was us re-enabling it. Which I thought indicates it was never configured right, except we've got a ticket documenting a change to Conditional Access a couple days after the hack that ALSO does not appear in the logs. So... it's likely it was changed, yet I have no record of that change (atleast, not through Entra > Monitoring > Auditing). If anyone knows any other ways of checking this, please advise - but I can't seem to even access our Diagnostic settings, the page tells me I need an Azure Active Directory subscription (I'm on Entra ID P1, which includes AAD.... this might be related to being global admin, and not Security Admin - we don't use that role in this relationship) ANYWAY, my amateur forensic skills have found that the attacker used an app called eM Client to get access. I'm not sure yet how they obtained the password, and got past MFA... But quick research shows this application (esp it's pro version) is known for use in BEC. The app was registered in Entra, and granted certain read permissions in Entra ID for shared mailboxes, presumably to find a decent thread to hijack. I'm not 100% sure yet there was any actual exploit done using this app, but it's popularity amongst hackers implies it does SOMETHING useful (i think remember that it authenticates using Exchange Web Services instead of Exchange Online, or something similar? Will update when I have the chance to check). We're in the process of improving our Secure Score, and this incident makes me think user's ability to register apps should be locked down. Checked Secure Score for this, and while there ARE recommendations around apps, disabling user app registration is NOT one of them. Just curious about people's thoughts. I just barely understand App Registration in Entra, but if this is a known attack vector, I would think disabling app registration would be a security recommendation?
Secure Score Improvement Recommended actions information sheet
Hello All I am starting a project to Improve our Secure score following the "Recommended Actions" section in the M365 Defender portal. Now each action comes with its own set of General information and remediation options. Rather than get the actions on each of the 208 recommendations by clicking through all the tabs and recording every step required to complete the recommendation , does anyone know if Microsoft has an Excel sheet with all the relevant Secure Score Improvement actions/information in one place? Will make running this project so much easier! Thanks in advance ! Kind Regards Christo
