Security is one of the largest and most challenging aspects of running a successful business in today’s world, and with the modern workplace here to stay and continuing to grow, it is important to maintain stringent security measures throughout any organization. In the last year, we have seen attacks against small and medium sized businesses grow at an alarming rate, as well as a large increase in ransomware attacks (Source). Businesses are a key target for malicious actors because there can be tens to thousands of pressure points in an organization, and it only takes one mistake to breach an entire company. Protecting valuable business data, capital, and identities is vitally important, and Microsoft Defender for Business is the new answer.
The difference between Defender for Endpoint and Defender for Business is quite simple. Defender for Business IS Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P1. This change is similar to what Microsoft did with ‘Office’. For enterprise customers, Office Pro Plus is available, and for smaller companies, the business version. Similarly, there are several versions of Windows: Enterprise and Business. Defender for Business has basically the same functionality of Defender P1, and P1 will be stripped down so customers no longer have to buy the full suite (which used to be called ATP) to get all the Defender capabilities.
The other alternative used to be to use the free Defender that came with Windows 10, but what we have seen from talking to other companies is that very few wanted to use the free version of Defender from Microsoft. Using this new product steps up security and provides next generation protection on businesses endpoints which makes it compatible and competitive with Sofos, Trend Micro, McAfee, and Semantic. Throughout this blog there are several videos regarding the different aspects of Defender for Endpoint. If you would like to watch the full blog interview, please click here.
Defender for Business is a new endpoint security solution built specifically to bring enterprise-grade security to businesses <300 employees. This solution is built into several different Microsoft subscriptions and can additionally be purchased as a standalone license. Defender for Endpoint has been designed to be both easy-to-use and cost-effective. Below, I will go into more detail about what Defender for Business can do for organizations, and if you are interested in learning more, Finchloom will be hosting the second part of our technical webinar series on December 14th on this topic. If you are interested in signing up for the webinar, please click here.
Increase your Organizational Security with Defender for Business
Replace old antivirus programs with the new industry standard and see the results within your organization. Increasingly, the top security threats for businesses are extortion or disruption from ransomware. With employees managing several endpoints each (computers, tablets, phones, etc.), it is critical to secure them. Bring your own device (BYOD) policies, work from anywhere scenarios, and mobile workforces only add to the existing threats that face the modern workplace. Defender for Business helps businesses protect against cybersecurity threats including malware and ransomware across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android devices. The distinguishing factor between Defender for Endpoint and Defender for Business is that Defender for Business brings a lot of the capabilities from Microsoft Defender for Endpoint to small and medium sized organizations.
What does Defender for Business include?
- Threat and vulnerability management – Helps businesses to prioritize and focus on the weaknesses that pose the most urgent and the highest risks. By discovering, prioritizing, and remediating software vulnerabilities and misconfigurations, businesses can proactively build a secure foundation for their environment(s).
- Attack surface reduction – Reduces attack surface (places that a company is vulnerable to cyberattacks) across devices and applications using capabilities such as ransomware mitigation, application control, web protection, network protection, network firewall, and attack surface reduction rules. This also enables some of the features of Windows 10, working in conjunction with the firewall, the TPM chip, and facial or fingerprint recognition.
- Next-generation protection – Helps to prevent and protect against threats at businesses front doors with antimalware and antivirus protection—on devices and in the cloud.
- Endpoint detection and response (EDR) – Behavioral-based detection and response alerts allowing businesses to identify persistent threats and remove them from their environment. This is not just pattern-based detection, but looks at all activity going on and sends an alert for anything that may look unusual. Manual response actions within Defender for Business allow organizations to act on processes and files, while live response will put businesses in direct control of a device to help ensure they are remediated, secured, and ready to go.
- Automated investigation and remediation – Helps to scale security operations by examining alerts and taking immediate action to resolve attacks for organizations. By reducing alert volume and remediating threats, Defender for Business can prioritize tasks and focus on more sophisticated threats.
- APIs and integration – Automate workflows and integrate security data into existing security platforms and reporting tools. For example, organizations can pull detections from Defender for Business into your security information and event management tool.
Easy use, management, and configuration
Whether you are a security expert or have no security knowledge, installation, implementation, and management of Defender for Business is simple. Streamlined experiences guide users to act with recommendations and insights into the security of endpoints. It also allows businesses to secure endpoints with less complexity and fewer gaps that can be exploited by bad actors.
The product includes simplified client configuration with wizard-driven set up and recommended security policies activated out-of-the-box, allowing organizations to quickly secure devices. Easy-to-use management controls and actionable insights save time and prioritize tasks. The home base/central console for management is also accessible from anywhere via a web browser by visiting security.microsoft.com.
Traditionally, organizations needed an individual or team to monitor and respond to the alerts that would come in from Defender for Endpoint. With the new offerings, these alerts can now be outsourced to a managed security vendor like Finchloom.
Maximum security, minimal cost
The simplicity of Defender for Business allows you to onboard and manage endpoint security with low operational overhead, and less burden to learn complex cybersecurity concepts to get your business secured.
Defender for Business protects endpoints whether a business’s email and productivity are on-premises, in Microsoft 365, or within another solution. The licensing model is flexible and simple. Upon general availability, you will be able to buy direct from Finchloom as a Microsoft Partner Cloud Solution Provider (CSP). It will be available for purchase:
- As a standalone offering, priced at $3 per user per month
- -OR- included as part of Microsoft 365 Business Premium
We want our clients (both current and future) to understand that Defender for Business may be included in their current subscriptions, and if not, at $3/user/month, it is affordable when comparing to some of the antivirus software’s on the market today. Finchloom provides subscription reviews for those who are interested, and in addition to letting businesses know if they already have a plan that is set to receive Defender, we have seen several of our current clients even upgrade to E3 licenses just to get the additional perk of Defender because the cost savings from getting rid of their old antivirus software’s enabled them to do so.
We at Finchloom are very excited to see Defender grow into a fully fleshed out product and wanted to share some of the information that we have gathered about the new features. Microsoft also recently announced an array of pricing changes, so now is a prime time to speak with a Finchloom representative to lock in the current rates before they change. If you are interested in a subscription review, upgrade, the a-la-carte version of Defender, or simply want to inquire further, please reach out at here; we look forward to hearing from you!
Thank you for reading!