As far as businesses are concerned, ransomware is the greatest danger, and smaller firms are especially ill-equipped to deal with security concerns. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has therefore been launched with a new subscription plan. A plan purportedly named Plan 1 targets smaller firms with fewer resources and searches for a security solution.
It’s now more complicated than ever to deal with the danger to the environment of cyber assaults. While also adhering to a zero-trust security policy, enterprises, most of which have limited resources, are doing their best to keep up with threats and their own organisational requirements.
Source: Microsoft TechCommunity
The endpoint is still a common target, though. The latest malware and ransomware threats continue to target these endpoints. Ransomware attacks, in particular, will continue to spread and become more sophisticated in the second half of 2021. As a result, the economic harm to private companies is escalating, not just affecting their infrastructure but also on public services and across many sectors.
Source: Microsoft TechCommunity
A Microsoft security research team discovered a near 121% spike in corporate ransomware attacks in the 2020-2021 timeframe (see above figure).
Microsoft TechCommunity announced the preview of a core set of prevention and protection features for endpoints running Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS after the launch of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 1. In addition, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 1 (P1) will be made available at a reduced price. Customers may expect to get the following critical features from Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P1:
- Artificial intelligence in cloud-based anti-virus that halts ransomware, malware, and other threats in their tracks.
- The device hardening features, which block zero-day attacks and offer granular control over endpoint access and behaviour, reduce the attack surface.
- An extra layer of data security and breach prevention, made possible via device-based access control, allowing a zero-trust approach.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P1 aims to help businesses resolve end-point threats rapidly, expand their security resources, and improve defences. There will be no changes to the current Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 (P2) endpoint security product.
Customers seeking EPP (endpoint protection) capabilities alone will choose Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 1. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 1 has the most delicate security features in the industry, including top-of-the-line endpoint protection on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices. The solution also offers state-of-the-art security, device management, endpoint firewall, network protection, online content filtering, attack surface reduction rules, restricted folder access, device-based conditional access, APIs and connectors, and the option to use your custom TI. In addition, Microsoft 365 Defender security experience access is included to wrap things off, which provides users with the incident and threat information, security dashboards, device inventories, and the ability to conduct manual reaction actions and investigations for following generation protection events.
The Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 package is by and away from the most practical choice for businesses that require a security solution with sophisticated threat detection and hunting skills, deep investigation and remediation tools, and advanced security operations capabilities. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 powers can further prevent safety infringements, reduce repair time, minimize the number of vulnerability attacks, detect and respond to endpoints (EDRs), automated remediation, advanced hunting, sandboxing, managed hunting, and threat intelligence and analysis of latest malware and state threats.
The following table highlights Plan 1 and Plan 2 feature differences.
Source: Microsoft TechCommunity
What do I need to do first with Microsoft Defender For Endpoint Plan?
More information about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P1 features and deployment best practices may be found in here in product documentation.
Microsoft Defender P1 supports Windows 7, 8.1, 10, 11, macOS, Android, and iOS client endpoints. Organizations may register for the preview to begin. P1’s free trial lasts for 90 days after a customer’s signup. We advise firms to buy P1 licenses from their Microsoft account team or their cloud service provider (CSP) once the 90-day grace period has passed.
Please see Microsoft’s documentation for information on hardware and software requirements.
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