Discover how Microsoft Defender is transforming the security landscape in the latest episode of The Late-Night Brew. Join your host Robert Buktenica and returning guest Jon Hazelden as they delve into the realm of safeguarding your organisation’s 365 tenant. From minimising attacks to enhancing security configurations, they explore how Defender’s integrated suite offers end-to-end visibility and simplifies day-to-day operations. Tune in for expert insights and witty banter, all served with a Monday cup of tea.
TIMESTAMP
00:07 – Introduction
00:50 – The Brew
01:32 – How can Defender secure an organisation’s Tenant?
04:45 – What are some of the benefits of adopting the full Defender suite?
TRANSCRIPT
Introduction
Robert Buktenica: Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the Late Night Brew, where we talk the brews first, then we get around what we’re supposed to afterwards. I’m Robert Bucktenica, as always, your host, and joining me for the next episode in the series is Jon Hazelden. Jon, welcome back.
Jonathan Hazelden: Hey, Buck, thanks for having me back again. I think this is the third one for our series. Fourth, I’ve lost count already.
Robert: You’ve only been part of every single one, so it’s all right. This one we’re going to dive into defending all of 365 and how Defender can help. However, before that, we of course know the drill, what brew are you having with me today?
The Brew
Jonathan: Today, it’s a Monday, but normally, that doesn’t stop me, but today, I’ve gone for a cup of tea.
Robert: Awesome.
Jonathan: Very British of me.
Robert: I was going to say a cup is a brew, so I can’t argue that at all. You’re good, mate. On a Monday of, in the spirit of Hefeweizen. It’s a little bit early for me, got to have a little bit more of a breakfast spirit as it were because, you know– but it’s okay.
Jonathan: I think I’ll join you, I think I’ll join you again next week.
Robert: Deal.
Jonathan: On the beers.
How can Defender secure an organization’s Tenant?
Robert: Now, diving right into it, how can Defender secure an organisation’s 365 tenant?
Jonathan: Well, it’s a very good question and you can answer it in a couple of different ways. I think, today, probably the best way to answer is around the security configuration of your 365 tenants rather than thinking about just stopping attacks coming in, how do you minimise?
You can never stop all the attacks, right? It’s all about reduction. There’s a reduction but there’s also how do you minimise the severity of those attacks when they do happen. all the time trying to keep your tenant secure as possible.
Robert: Functional.
Jonathan: The ways to do that, especially if you think about Defender, when you use the Defender portal, you have a secure score and you have various different areas to secure score. What’s good about our secure score is that it gives you a score of where you’re at today versus where you could be.
Really, what it does is it makes some really good recommendations about this is your current configuration or your security configuration, and here is a list of improvements that could have a positive impact on that score, but actually make your environment more secure.
A couple of examples would be, and you get them from the different sources as well, so you get them from Defender for Endpoint, Defender for Office, and Defender for Identity, et cetera.
Those recommendations come from different sources. One might be attack surface reduction from an endpoint point of view. You need to enable this feature which will stop potentially unwanted applications. This will increase your score and at the same time make the environment more secure. That’s just one example, but there’s many.
Robert: It’s not the same as like, for example, a security organization or another organization coming through, and say, “We’re going to do X type of benchmark against your tenant and ensure all these things.” It sounds like it’s much more of a, “This is what we recommend at the base level, and the more you do, the more secure you potentially will be.” You know, assuming good user processes and all that.
Jonathan: Yes, absolutely. Microsoft have their own benchmarks and their own best practice guidance which is taken essentially from the security industry. There’s a starting point or a baseline that you want to be at, and then you can improve over time.
What are some of the benefits of adopting the full Defender suite?
Robert: Definitely. Now, talking about or as you mentioned the various suites as well as where they fit in to that secure score, what would be some of the benefits of, guess you could say, putting all of your eggs into Microsoft basket of adopting the full Defender Suite within 365 rather than doing like proof point for email and piecemealing it.
Jonathan: Yes, I mean, the keyword here is integration. By having a Microsoft Defender suite, other part of it or all of it, it’s all about the integration between the different products. Essentially, it provides a comprehensive, integrated security ecosystem whether for protection, endpoint protection, email protection, identity and access management, product security, they all talk to each other and they’re all integrated into one solution.
Ultimately, what that does is it gives you end to end visibility and essentially simplifies your day-to-day operations.
Robert: It’s hard to overstate the benefit of all of your security products talking with each other and also talking with what is functionally your main tenant as a whole so that, hey, security is doing security things and then when that signal gets sent over, the tenant can react and say, “Hey, I need to do this because something might be happening with that user,” right? Now, it can work with itself. There’s no good way to phrase this. You know, I could talk to it, so it will help me along, so what?
Jonathan: That’s exactly right, Buck.
Robert: On that terrible, terrible joke, that does unfortunately eat up our time for today. Jon, as always, thank you very much for joining, it’s been a pleasure. Until next episode, please, our contact information, it’s all below. If you want to know more, please feel free to reach out, please ask us questions, that’s what we’re here for. Until then, mate, cheers, take care.
Jonathan: Cheers, take care.
To watch other Late Night Brew episodes and explore more cybersecurity insights, check out our series playlist. If you have any questions or want to learn more about how Microsoft Defender can enhance your organisation’s security, feel free to contact us.
