Over the past two years the move to hybrid work has been rapid and as businesses and individuals have rapidly adapted so too have attackers and cybercriminals, improving targeting, speed and accuracy and placing cybersecurity issues and risks firmly at the top of the agenda for organisations in the year ahead
That’s the insight from Microsoft’s 2022 Work Trend Index, Malware, stolen credentials, phishing attacks, devices that lack security updates, user error, and physical attacks on lost or stolen devices are all major concerns for security and IT teams.
In 2021 more than 9.6 billion malware threats, more than 35.7 billion phishing and other malicious emails and 25.6 billion attempts to hijack enterprise customers by brute-forcing passwords were prevented by the protections built into Windows, Azure, Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and now Microsoft is using that intelligence to further develop that protection for now and into the future with significant security updates in future releases of Windows 11.
Using a combination of modern software and hardware Microsoft has made groundbreaking investments to provide hardware security innovations like secured core PCs which are more resilient to malware than machines that don’t meet these specifications. Upcoming releases will also see built-in protection to help defend from advanced and targeted phishing attacks plus more protection for applications and personal data and empowering IT teams with the ability to lock security configurations as more enterprise devices are sent to users.
Other changes will include Microsoft Pluton, the only security processor which is kept regularly up to date with key security and functionality updates coming through Windows Update just like any other Window’s component, meaning it does not require enterprises to manually update firmware making it much easier to stay secure. Smart App Control, is a major enhancement to the Windows 11 security model that prevents users from running malicious applications on Windows devices that default blocks untrusted or unsigned applications whilst enhanced phishing detection and protection built into Windows with Microsoft Defender SmartScreen will help protect users from phishing attacks by identifying and alerting users when they are entering their Microsoft credentials into a malicious application or hacked website.
Click here for a full overview of what changes IT Teams and users can expect
Read the Work Trend Index 2022