Gartner Insights Abstract

Top 5 ‘Gotchas’ of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and How to Overcome Them

Published: 15 January 2024

Summary

Many organizations shortlist Microsoft Defender for Endpoint as an endpoint security solution but it is not a one-size-fits-all tool. Security and risk management technical professionals must assess these five potential pitfalls to determine if MDE is a good fit for their organization.

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Overview

Key Findings
  • Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE) Plan 1/Microsoft 365E3 — only offers protection capabilities, but no endpoint detection and response (EDR) capabilities, only protection. It should also be noted that servers are not covered under these licenses.

  • There are a number of features, such as attack surface reduction, host firewall, and automated investigation and response (AIR), that exist for MicrosoftWindows that do not exist for Linux or macOS, leading to uneven support on non-Windows OS.

  • Kusto Query Language (KQL) and PowerShell are the backbone of the day-to-day management of an MDEenvironment but are often overlooked during MDE deployment planning.

  • Gartner clients indicate

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Analysts:

Eric Grenier

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