Microsoft Security Tools and Features Analysis

1. Microsoft 365 Defender Suite (Unified security suite)

- Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE)
- Daily:
- Real-time alerts and incidents based on endpoint activity.
- Behavioral analytics for anomaly detection (e.g., suspicious file executions, lateral
movement).
- Continuous monitoring of attack surface reduction rules.
- Threat and vulnerability management for patch prioritization and applying security
controls.
- Weekly:
- Review of Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) logs for suspicious behavior and
incomplete incidents.
- Review device posture and configuration reports.
- Monthly:
- Conduct threat hunting using advanced hunting queries.
- Review automated investigations and remediation for completeness.
- Assess endpoint protection settings and adjust policies based on trends.

- Microsoft Defender for Identity (MDI)

- Daily:
- Monitor identity-related attacks like Pass-the-Ticket, Pass-the-Hash, and lateral
movement attempts.
- Real-time identity security posture monitoring.
- Weekly:
- Analyze anomalous activities on user credentials.
- Review of risky sign-ins and user behavior reports.
- Monthly:
- Advanced investigations into Identity breaches.
- Policy adjustments and fine-tuning based on identified trends.

- Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (MDO)

- Daily:
- Email and collaboration protection – monitor email flows for malware, phishing, and
spoofing attempts.
- Real-time incident handling based on suspicious messages or compromised accounts.
- Weekly:
- Review reports on blocked malware and phishing attempts.
- Trend analysis of email traffic to detect emerging threats.
- Monthly:
- Analyze long-term threat patterns and update Safe Links/Safe Attachments policies.
 - Perform in-depth investigations on email security breaches.

- Microsoft Cloud App Security (MCAS)

- Daily:
- Continuous monitoring of cloud application activities and app usage patterns.
- Alerts on suspicious OAuth apps, impossible travel, and abnormal logins.
- Weekly:
- Cloud application discovery review for shadow IT visibility.
- Review user behaviors and investigate high-risk usage.
- Monthly:
- Re-assess cloud app risk scores and adjust policies.
- Review sanctioned/unsanctioned apps and update app policies.

2. Azure Security Suite

- Azure Security Center (ASC)/Microsoft Defender for Cloud

- Daily:
- Monitoring compliance and real-time threat detection across hybrid environments.
- Review vulnerability scans for exposed services and misconfigurations.
- Weekly:
- Remediation of security recommendations, based on weekly scans.
- Review of resource posture against secure score metrics.
- Monthly:
- Perform in-depth assessments on high-risk resources.
- Security policy updates based on trend reports.

- Azure Sentinel (SIEM)

- Daily:
- Continuous monitoring of custom detections and alert triggers for real-time threats.
- Real-time correlation of signals from different sources (Azure, M365, on-premises).
- Weekly:
- Review of investigation cases opened automatically or manually.
- Trend analysis of incidents, refine threat detection rules.
- Monthly:
- Run hunting queries to detect unknown or dormant threats.
- Update and re-tune detection rules and playbooks for automation.

3. Microsoft Defender for IoT

- Daily:
- Continuous monitoring of IoT devices for anomaly detection.
- Real-time alerts based on non-compliant or unusual IoT activity.
- Weekly:
- Review IoT device traffic patterns and security posture.
 - Review blocked or suspicious device activity.
- Monthly:
- IoT threat intelligence review and policy updates for devices.

4. Azure AD Identity Protection & Governance

- Daily:
- Monitor and respond to risky sign-ins, compromised credentials, and MFA challenges.
- Continuous monitoring of conditional access policies.
- Weekly:
- Review security reports for identity-based threats and anomalies.
- Audit privileged account usage.
- Monthly:
- Perform access reviews and audit access rights for critical systems.
- Update conditional access policies based on detected identity risks.

Security Roadmap for 30,000 Users & Endpoints

Phase 1: Immediate Setup (First 30 Days)

1. Baseline Configuration and Onboarding
- Configure Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Defender for Identity, and Cloud App
Security.
- Establish integration between Azure Security Center and Azure Sentinel.
- Onboard all endpoints, servers, and IoT devices into Microsoft Defender suite.
- Set up Identity Protection policies and configure MFA.
- Deploy Threat and Vulnerability Management for endpoint assessments.

2. Immediate Threat Detection and Monitoring

- Deploy Azure Sentinel connectors for all Microsoft security tools.
- Implement attack surface reduction rules for endpoints and IoT devices.
- Configure initial detection rules and alerts in Sentinel based on typical attack vectors
(e.g., phishing, identity compromise, lateral movement).

3. Endpoint and IoT Security Posture Monitoring

- Conduct initial device posture assessments and identify misconfigurations.
- Start continuous monitoring for endpoint and IoT traffic anomalies.

Phase 2: Intermediate (First 3 Months)

1. Enhanced Threat Hunting & Response
- Implement custom advanced hunting queries in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and
Azure Sentinel.
- Establish automated investigation and remediation workflows.
- Develop and tune playbooks in Azure Sentinel for critical incident response.
2. Improved Identity and Access Governance
- Deploy access reviews across critical applications and resources.
- Automate governance policies with Azure AD Identity Protection.

3. Cloud App Security & IoT

- Integrate Microsoft Cloud App Security policies for sanctioned and unsanctioned cloud
services.
- Roll out IoT-specific threat detection policies using Microsoft Defender for IoT.

Phase 3: Mature State (6-12 Months)

1. Continuous Risk Mitigation
- Utilize Microsoft Defender for Identity to automate detection of advanced identity
threats.
- Tune Azure Sentinel incident correlation and detection rules based on ongoing threat
trends.

2. Long-Term Vulnerability and Threat Management

- Run periodic vulnerability assessments across all endpoints, devices, and applications.
- Maintain cloud compliance monitoring with regular reporting from Azure Security
Center.

3. Security Policy Optimization

- Perform regular reviews and updates of all security policies, conditional access rules, and
cloud app control.
- Optimize detection and response playbooks for emerging threat trends.