On Friday, an announcement was made about a host of new Microsoft security tools for businesses that will soon be released. The new tools have a wide range of cybersecurity capabilities and can be used by businesses to improve security on Windows 10 and Office 365.
Businesses will soon be able to use on-premises Active Directory with Windows Hello which will allow the use of biometric logins to improve authentication without the need to use Azure Active Directory. A Dynamic Lock feature will also be added in Windows Hello. This feature will link a smartphone with Windows 10 to ensure that Windows 10 devices are locked when they are out of Bluetooth range, helping to prevent unauthorized access when users forget to lock their devices when they leave their desks. The tools will be released as part of the upcoming Windows 10 Creators Update.
Surface hardware security will also be improved with a new tool that allows a range of additional controls to be implemented, such as disabling the cameras or microphones on tablets. Policies can be set that will activate under a certain set of conditions. Since the updates allow certain features to be disabled at a “fundamental, hardware level,” it will be much harder for those controls to be bypassed. New tools will also be released to help organizations migrate group security policy settings to manage cloud-based devices. Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection will also be getting support for custom security rules, which can be set to protect against specific threats.
Office 365 users will also benefit from a new security assessment tool. The Office 365 security tool can be used by organizations and users to assess the security controls that have been activated. Running the tool will provide a security score based on the currently active security controls. The tool will be able to give a snapshot of security to let the user know how vulnerable their device is. Users will be advised which security controls they can apply that will give the most benefit.
The Office 365 Threat Intelligence service has also been announced. This can be used by IT admins to see which individuals are being targeted by hackers in addition to providing information about current security threats.
The new Microsoft security tools for businesses have been announced ahead of the upcoming RSA security conference in San Francisco, with the announcement hoped to alleviate some fears about the security of Microsoft products.