Image: Getty/Luis Alvarez
Microsoft is expanding its cybersecurity suite, Microsoft 365 Defender, with AI-based capabilities which can automatically detect and disrupt cyberattacks like ransomware attacks and business email compromise (BEC) campaigns by quickly identifying and switching off the accounts or services being exploited by attackers.
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Successfully compromising and exploiting the right accounts can allow cyber criminals to gain access to the tools and privileges they need to encrypt a whole network of machines with ransomware in a short amount of time.
Meanwhile, BEC attacks — email attacks where employees are tricked into making financial transfers under false pretexts — can also occur in a short amount of time.
Both ransomware and BEC attacks can be very costly for victims. To help protect networks from cyberattacks, Microsoft is expanding the automatic attack disruption in Microsoft 365 Defender, which is powered by artificial intelligence-driven threat hunting and detection capabilities, which were first unveiled last year.
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This capability uses high-confidence Extended Detection and Response (XDR) signals across endpoints, identities, email, and SaaS (Software as a Service) apps, to contain cybersecurity attacks quickly and effectively, to stop attacks and limit the impact to the victim.
Microsoft is expanding its public preview of Microsoft 365 Defender, to help protect networks against ransomware and BEC attacks, two of the most common — and most costly — cybersecurity threats to businesses.
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