Complete Guide to Azure Endpoint Protection and Security

Azure Endpoint Protection is a comprehensive security solution designed to safeguard your organization's endpoints from various threats. It provides real-time protection against malware, viruses, and other types of cyber attacks.

With Azure Endpoint Protection, you can detect and respond to security incidents quickly and efficiently. This is made possible through its advanced threat detection capabilities and integration with Microsoft 365 Threat Intelligence.

Azure Endpoint Protection also offers robust reporting and analytics features, allowing you to gain valuable insights into your organization's security posture. This enables you to make informed decisions and take proactive measures to prevent future security breaches.

By implementing Azure Endpoint Protection, you can significantly reduce the risk of security incidents and protect your organization's sensitive data.

Microsoft Defender is a powerful tool for protecting your Windows and Linux machines, whether they're hosted in Azure, hybrid clouds, or multicloud environments. It provides advanced post-breach detection sensors that collect behavioral signals from your machines.

Defender for Endpoint includes vulnerability assessment from Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, which can show vulnerabilities discovered by Defender Vulnerability Management and offer this module as a supported vulnerability assessment solution. This module also brings software inventory features.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has analytics-based, cloud-powered, post-breach detection that quickly adapts to changing threats using advanced analytics and big data, amplified by the power of the Intelligent Security Graph. It provides actionable alerts and enables you to respond quickly.

Defender for Endpoint generates alerts when it identifies attacker tools, techniques, and procedures, using data generated by Microsoft threat hunters and security teams, augmented by intelligence provided by partners.

To integrate Defender for Endpoint with Defender for Cloud, you gain access to extra capabilities, including automated onboarding and a single pane of glass. The Defender for Cloud portal displays Defender for Endpoint alerts, allowing you to investigate further.

Here are the benefits of integrating Microsoft Defender for Endpoint with Defender for Cloud:

To enable Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, you need to log in to the Microsoft Defender Security Center, navigate to Settings and select Endpoints, click on On for Microsoft Intune Connection & Device Discovery, and save your preferences.

To set up your policies for Azure endpoint protection, start by creating custom security policies to address common misconfigurations. These policies can automatically stop VMs, disable resources, remediate security violations, and send notifications.

Create an Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) policy using Intune, which is a simple method that doesn't require manual agent installation or GPOs. This policy will enable Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on your fleet of devices.

To create an EDR policy, login to the MEM Portal, select Endpoint security > Endpoint detection and response > Create Policy, and choose Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Servers as the platform. Then, select Endpoint detection and response as the profile type and create a new policy.

Set up an Antivirus (AV) policy in Intune to enable Microsoft Defender Antivirus across your fleet. This policy will configure settings such as allowing archive scanning, behavior monitoring, cloud protection, and email scanning.

To create an AV policy, login to the MEM Portal, select Endpoint security > Antivirus > Create Policy, and choose Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Servers as the platform. Then, select Microsoft Defender Antivirus as the profile type and create a new policy.

Create an Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) policy in Intune to enable exploit mitigation techniques and regulate access to malicious IP addresses, domains, and URLs. This policy will configure settings such as blocking Adobe Reader from creating child processes and blocking execution of potentially obfuscated scripts.

To create an ASR policy, login to the MEM Portal, select Endpoint security > Attack Surface Reduction Rules > Create Policy, and choose Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Servers as the platform. Then, select Attack Surface Reduction Rules as the profile type and create a new policy.

By setting up these policies, you'll be able to enforce data loss prevention, monitor and govern confidential data transfers, and protect your Windows and Linux machines from threats.

Here's a summary of the policies you'll need to create:

Azure Endpoint Protection offers a robust set of features and capabilities to safeguard your endpoints. It includes threat and vulnerability management, which performs a software inventory on endpoints in real-time to detect and mitigate security vulnerabilities.

The platform also features attack surface reduction, which reduces the overall attack surface of a system through hardware isolation and application control. This includes monitoring application audit data and adding exclusions for necessary applications.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers next-generation protection, performing continuous scans to detect and block threats. It uses Microsoft Defender Antivirus, behavior-based antivirus protection, and cloud-delivered protection.

Here are some of the key features and capabilities of Azure Endpoint Protection:

These features work together to provide a comprehensive endpoint security solution that can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your organization.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers a robust set of features and capabilities to protect your endpoints. It performs a software inventory in real-time to detect, prioritize, and mitigate security vulnerabilities related to installed applications and missing patches.

The tool reduces the attack surface of a system through hardware isolation and application control. It monitors application audit data, adds exclusions for necessary applications, and employs attack surface reduction rules.

Next-generation protection is a key feature, performing continuous scans to detect and block threats. This feature uses Microsoft Defender Antivirus, behavior-based antivirus protection, and cloud-delivered protection.

Defender for Endpoint groups related attacks into incidents, allowing security professionals to prioritize, investigate, and respond to threats. Automated investigation and remediation examines and resolves alerts, freeing up security professionals to focus on other tasks.

The Secure score feature rates the current security configuration based on categories including application, operating system, network, accounts, and security controls. Endpoint Attack, a managed hunting service, detects and prioritizes attacks, including keylogger and cyber attacks.

Management and APIs integrate Defender for Endpoint into an organization's workflow. Shared data is shared with other Microsoft products, including Azure Active Directory Identity Protection, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, and Microsoft Defender for Office 365.

Endpoint behavioral sensors collect and process behaviors from Windows 10. Defender for Endpoint offers security services for Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android operating systems.

Here are the key features of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint:

Using DDoS protection is a crucial step in safeguarding your application from overwhelming attacks. DDoS threats target your endpoints.

DDoS attacks can drain your application's resources by sending too many requests. This can be prevented by using Azure DDoS Protection.

Azure DDoS Protection is simple to enable on any new or existing virtual networks. You'll receive real-time adaptive tuning to help mitigate attacks.

DDoS defense analytics provide valuable insights into your application's security. This helps you make informed decisions to strengthen your defenses.

Azure DDoS rapid responses quickly identify and neutralize threats. This means you can rest assured that your application is protected in real-time.

Turnkey protection offers comprehensive protection against DDoS attacks. This means you don't have to worry about setting up complex security measures.

Microsoft offers two main plans for Defender for Endpoint: Plan 1 (P1) and Plan 2 (P2).

Plan 1 (P1) is the base version, offering features like APIs, security information and event management connector, and application control.

Plan 2 (P2) adds several features to P1, including automated investigation and remediation, Defender Vulnerability Management capabilities, and endpoint detection and response.

Microsoft Defender for Business is a standalone version available for small and medium-sized businesses, offering threat and vulnerability management features, attack surface reduction, and automated investigation and response.

You can get Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P1 as a standalone subscription license for commercial and education customers, or as part of certain Microsoft 365 plans.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P2 is also available as a standalone license or as part of certain versions of Windows 10 and 11 Enterprise, and certain versions of Microsoft 365.

Microsoft offers a free trial of both P1 and P2 versions of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.

With SaaS, you can significantly reduce deployment complexity and cost, allowing you to allocate more resources to mitigating risks to your sensitive data.

Deploying SaaS eliminates the need to maintain infrastructure, freeing up time and money for more pressing concerns.

By leveraging SaaS, you can focus on what matters most – protecting your data and business from potential threats.

SaaS solutions often provide a more streamlined and efficient experience, with fewer technical hurdles to navigate.

Microsoft offers two main plans for Windows Defender for Endpoint: Plan 1 (P1) and Plan 2 (P2).

Plan 1 offers a base version with features such as APIs, security information and event management connector, and next-generation antimalware.

Plan 2 adds several features on top of Plan 1, including automated investigation and remediation, and threat intelligence through analytics.

Here are the key features of Plan 1:

And here are the additional features of Plan 2:

Microsoft Defender for Business is a standalone version that comes with threat and vulnerability management features, but it has limited web content filtering and cross-platform support features.