Cybercrime—Overview

Technological innovations have changed many aspects in life— from how we do business and communicate with one another to how we live our daily lives. Today’s digital transformation has been a turning point, especially in the business world, as it has opened many different opportunities, transcended all physical boundaries, and reimagined business. However, as technology advances, so do the methods adopted by cybercriminals to infiltrate organizations and steal their most valuable assets. In fact, cybercrime is on the rise and accordingly, monetary damage has been increasing exponentially since 2001 and has reached USD 4.35 million in 2022 (according to IBM).

Cybercrime costs include damage and destruction of data, robbed money, productivity loss, theft of intellectual property, theft of personal and financial data, embezzlement, restoration and deletion of hacked data and systems, and reputational harm. As a result, investing in security is vital to prevent and reduce the risk of cybercrimes.

Microsoft and Security

Microsoft is one of the leading digital companies that prioritizes protection and offers many security solutions to businesses in various industries. From built-in Windows Security services to more advanced and powerful security solutions, including the Microsoft Defender family, cybersecurity is at the top of their list. In addition, Microsoft’s security products cover all the important branches of any organization such as their devices, applications, emails and collaboration tools, and identity. Below is a list of Microsoft’s top business security solutions.

1. Secure Devices with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint & Defender for Servers

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (formerly Microsoft Defender ATP) and Microsoft Defender for Servers are security solutions that protect organizations’ multiple types of devices. Both solutions offer two plans— allowing businesses to choose whichever is more suitable for their environment.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a complete cloud-delivered endpoint security solution that helps enterprise networks prevent, detect, investigate, and respond to advanced threats across Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and network devices. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint includes the following capabilities:

  • Eliminate the blind spots in an organization’s environment
  • Discover vulnerabilities and misconfigurations in real time
  • Quickly go from alert to remediation at scale with automation
  • Block sophisticated threats and malware
  • Detect and respond to advanced attacks with deep threat monitoring and analysis
  • Eliminate risks and reduce attack surface
  • Secure mobile devices
  • Simplify endpoint security management

Businesses who are looking for a security solution that not only protects virtual machines and devices but also on-premises machines should consider Microsoft Defender for Servers. The latter protects Windows and Linux machines in Azure, AWS, GCP, and on-premises. What is interesting about Defender for Servers is that its Plan 1 integrates with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 to provide a full endpoint detection and response (EDR) solution for machines running a range of operating systems. Furthermore, Defender for Servers Plan 2 includes everything in Defender for Servers Plan 1 with additional enhanced security features.

2. Secure Email and Collaboration Tools with Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Malware, phishing, and ransomware threaten business emails daily and are costly in terms of time, data, and revenue. The percentage of business email compromise keeps on increasing; thus, it is vital for organizations to immune their systems by strengthening the security of their emails and collaboration tools.

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 safeguards organizations against malicious threats posed by email messages, links (URLs), and collaboration tools. With its configuration, protection, and detection capabilities, businesses gain more insight to help them stay secure. Additionally, Microsoft gives organizations the chance to get even more power with automation, investigation, remediation, and education capabilities when subscribing to Microsoft Defender Office 365 Plan 2.

3. Secure Identity with Microsoft Defender for Identity & Azure AD Premium Edition

Identity-based attacks have become the main method for successful breaches by cybercriminals targeting organizations; thus, it is integral for businesses to secure all identities in their environment.

Microsoft Defender for Identity (formerly Azure Advanced Threat Protection, also known as Azure ATP) and Azure AD Premium edition are both security solutions that help businesses prevent identity-driven breaches.

Microsoft Defender for Identity is a cloud-based security solution that captures on-premises Active Directory signals to identify, detect, and investigate advanced threats, compromised identities, and malicious insider actions directed at an organization. With Defender for Identity, enterprises will be able to:

  • Monitor users, entity behavior, and activities with learning-based analytics
  • Protect user identities and credentials stored in Active Directory
  • Identify and investigate suspicious user activities and advanced attacks throughout the kill chain
  • Provide clear incident information on a simple timeline for fast triage

Designed to empower organizations with more demanding identity and access management needs, Azure Active Directory Premium edition adds feature-rich enterprise-level identity management capabilities and enables hybrid users to seamlessly access on-premises and cloud capabilities. This edition includes everything organizations need for information worker and identity administrators in hybrid environments across application access, self-service identity and access management (IAM), and security in the cloud.

4. Secure Applications with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Moving to the cloud increases flexibility for employees and IT teams. However, it also presents new challenges and complexities for keeping the organization secure. Therefore, businesses should implement the right security solutions to support access while protecting critical data. This is where a Cloud Access Security Broker steps in to safeguard an organization’s use of cloud services by enforcing its enterprise security policies. As the name suggests, CASBs (Cloud Access Security Broker) act as a gatekeeper to broker access in real time between enterprise users and cloud resources they use, wherever these users are located and regardless of the device they are using.

An important Cloud Access Security Broker solution is Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps (formerly Microsoft Cloud App Security). The latter provides rich visibility, control over data travel, and sophisticated analytics to identify and combat cyberthreats across all Microsoft and third-party cloud services in the organization.

The benefits of using Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps include:

  • Discovering and controlling the use of shadow IT
  • Protecting sensitive information anywhere in the cloud
  • Detecting unusual behavior across all cloud apps to identify ransomware, compromised users, or rogue applications
  • Using real-time controls to enable threat protection on the organization’s access points
  • Managing the organization’s applications in the cloud
  • Gaining insight into the organization’s Microsoft 365 app behaviors

Defend your Business

With the constant rise of cyberattacks, particularly in the business world, the value of an organization heavily relies on how well it shields its data, the strength of its cybersecurity, and its level of cyber resilience. Hence, investing in security is no longer a choice but a necessity. Microsoft’s comprehensive security solutions give organizations the protection they need to ensure a safe and solid foundation against all types of cyberthreats.