This New Vulnerability Reveals if Microsoft Defender Is Enough on Its Own

Just this month, the CISA announced that they added the Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability to their Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog.?This vulnerability is considered a frequent attack vendor for malicious cyber actors of all types and a significant risk to the federal enterprise. For many in the IT field, this is not alarming. With thousands of new vulnerabilities discovered every year, bad actors continuously work to exploit them. So when companies like Microsoft offer tools like Microsoft Defender for 365 accounts, many believe it's all that's needed to provide an avid defense. That couldn't be further from the truth. This blog will tell you why.

What is Microsoft Defender?

Microsoft Defender is an anti-malware component of Microsoft Windows. Initially, it was released in 2006 as a downloadable free anti-spyware program for Windows XP called "Windows Defender". Microsoft added protection against viruses to the program in 2008, using the same anti-malware engine and virus definitions from Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). Microsoft also released a feature in the anniversary release of Windows 10 where users would receive a pop-up notification after a scan reflecting the findings even if no viruses were found. Today, the latest integrations to Microsoft Defender include Threat and Vulnerability Management, as well as Internet of Things (IoT) Device Discovery and Integration.

Microsoft Defender Features and Licenses:

Microsoft Defender offers security features for a variety of licenses starting with select feature availability for Identity to all feature availability in XDR. The following chart provides a glimpse into what features are available with what licenses:

So, Is Microsoft Defender Enough on Its Own?

While Microsoft Defender is highly effective software that scans email, internet browser, cloud, and applications for cyber threats- it lacks endpoint protection and response. It also lacks automated investigation and remediation of threats. Therefore, Microsoft Defender is a software that needs to be paired with other antivirus software to function successfully.?

Centre Technologies offers a robust program for businesses that use 365 services called?Secure Microsoft 365. Because it includes all protections that Microsoft Defender contains as a base standard, it's secure by default. It also includes additional protections that Microsoft Defender doesn't have.

Businesses are surprised when their own IT environment is attacked, even after spending time and money on securing it. The truth is, there are blind spots. Both known and unknown vulnerabilities, like Microsoft Win32K, can make it easy for hackers to make an entrance and reak havoc.

By leveraging the new features and enhancements in Microsoft Defender, businesses can increase their security, productivity, and efficiency. Once Centre's expanded Cybersecurity and Data Protection solution is combined with?Managed Vulnerability Scanning, businesses can ensure complete surveillance of cyber threats of all kinds. They also gain thorough protection for their IT environments even when new threats are discovered.?

To learn more about the security enhancements offered by Microsoft 365, check out our latest blog post comparing Microsoft Defender with other security services.