Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Protect Against Advanced Email Threats

Looking to protect your data from advanced attacks? Using Microsoft Defender for office 365 can help to protect against advanced email threats. Let’s understand how in this post.

For cybercriminals, emails and messages are a preferred place to attack and get data by adding malware onto computers through attachment links. These links are passed through malicious websites when users receive an email of false jobs, payment alerts, notifications about fines, and other non-relevant emails. With this, users can fall into the trap, making their attacks significantly more accessible. Then, how to protect from these threats using Microsoft Defender? Read on to know more.

Microsoft Office 365 comes with the ability to protect against spam activities and provide basic security measures. However, as hackers are growing globally, most companies require tools capable of handling these threats. Talking about Microsoft tools, connecting with Microsoft Defender consulting services company can guide you in choosing a tool that helps enrich your business’s security and protects your data against advanced threats. So, what is Microsoft Defender for office 365, and how it works?

What is Microsoft Defender for office 365?

It is a Cloud-based service provider that helps to protect against spoofing, phishing, and other malware attacks. These attacks can be made onto your system through emails and other collaborative activities shared on tools. While Microsoft Defender for office 365 comes with SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams, and OneDrive for Business to protect against threats. 

Microsoft Defender Protection Services 

Microsoft 365 Defender protection services can protect and prevent harmful threats. The services can protect in multiple ways like:

EndPoints with Defender for Endpoint: It’s a platform for prevention, post-breach detection, and other automated responses.

Assets with Defender Vulnerability Management: It’s a platform that delivers continuous asset visibility and built-in remediation tools for addressing misconfigurations. 

Email and Collaboration: This platform helps safeguard your company’s data from threats shared through links, email messages, and other collaboration tools.

Identities with Defender for Identity and Azure AD Protection: Leverage your on-premises active directory signals by identifying threats and other activities directed to your organization. Also, connecting with Microsoft Defender Consultants can guide you through the process of prevention. 

Microsoft Defender Cloud Application: Get a comprehensive cross-SaaS solution to bring deep visibility and enhanced data protection to your cloud applications. 

What are the advanced features of Microsoft 365 threat protection?

Checking attachment virtually

We might have heard several times, but only open attachments if you expect them, as this can be harmful. At the same time, Microsoft 365 ATP tool offers a safe option to open a file in a virtual environment and test it.

Fight Against Phishing Mail

Some criminals gather sensitive data and use them illegally. At the same time, Microsoft 365 ATP tool uses the machine learning algorithm to spot phishing activities. The tool identifies any attempts made and moves them to the spam folder.

Sanitize Suspicious Links

Chances are, we may find different links for text messages and other URLs for email attachments. Therefore, the Microsoft ATP tool can check if the link is safe to use and notify users about malicious activities. 

Only allows Intelligent Spoofing

Spoofing is an act where companies may imitate another sender for bulk marketing or sending bulk emails. So, with the Microsoft defender ATP tool, users can create filters that can identify authentic activity and block them. 

Automates the Incident Responses

One can use an automated investigation process to update the system using the Microsoft ATP tool. It helps in checking for any viruses and looking for any suspicious text which does not fit your company’s criteria. 

Delivers Business Intelligence

The Microsoft ATP tool offers rich features that enable users to develop business intelligence and forestall future attacks. Develop online assets, insights, and other remedial steps using an analytics tool to keep your data safe.

How Microsoft Defender for Office 365 works?

Timeline

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Source: Microsoft

Here’s how the Microsoft Defender architecture works:

  1. Initially, the sender connects with the company’s email server through Exchange online or any SMTP gateways.
  2. Later, Exchange online protection checks the inbound links, review messages, headers, policies, and other tags.
  3. Next comes EXO, which protects data from incoming messages and provides recommendations using advanced threat protection and mitigation.
  4. In this step, if there is no sign of malicious activities, it is delivered to the EXO recipient. A few activities like adding filters and other junk mail are also processed. 
  5. Now, EXO integrates with Azure AD connect to access the on-premises active directory and sync mail related to any objects or settings required.
  6. In an On-premises environment, Microsoft deploys an exchange server to manage and share email-related activities on the Active directory.
  7. Lastly, all the threat signals with the Microsoft Defender suite are processed, and prevention is done accordingly.

Wrapping up:

Use Microsoft Defender for office 365 to integrate it with various Microsoft 365 services, which include SharePoint Online, OneDrive, Exchange Online, and various other services. Moreover, the ATP tool allows users to protect their emails from threats like viruses and other harmful links. Choose the best Microsoft Defender Consulting Services company and get an excellent Microsoft Defender Consultant who can guide you in achieving a higher level of data protection. 

However, to use the advanced threats of Windows defender, users can combine it with a premium security suite like Windows defender for office 365.