Microsoft Security Academy
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Welcome to the Microsoft Security Academy, your gateway to comprehensive cybersecurity training and resources.


April 25th, 2025 Update📰

Recent Update (April 25th): Events, Partner Programs, Back to basics series, almost all Modules, and Security Copilot


Phishers found a sneaky way to make emails look like they were sent to you by naming their account “me@.” Gmail’s UI/UX showed it as just “me” — easy to miss, easy to fall for. Google originally said it wasn’t a bug, but after pushback, they’re fixing it. Moral of the story? Don’t trust how it looks and double-check those sender details🎣

Building with Model Context Protocol (MCP)? Start with John Savill’s breakdown, then check out our new guidance on how to keep your implementation secure and avoid OAuth misconfigs. Also new: an AI Red Teaming Agent for testing GenAI security, using PyRIT to simulate real attacks✅

MSSPs, take note: Multi-workspace for multi-tenancy just hit public preview in our unified SecOps portal — if you’re juggling multiple customers and workspaces, this update is a game-changer. Native support, less context-switching, more control.

Password spraying is back, and lax MFA is still the low-hanging fruit, according to recent research from Rapid7.

We almost lost the CVE disclosure system last week, and if you’re wondering why that’s important…

Click the image to open in a new tab

CVE Reference Architecture

A seasonal reminder that M365 Maps should be your go-to for all things licensing 🔍

Big news for SMBs! E5 is now available as an add-on to Business Premium — read about the announcement here!🆕

Just last week, we announced Security Copilot agents that automate repetitive, noisy tasks like user-reported phishing alerts, conditional access policy gaps for new users and apps, and DLP/IRM alerts.

Think of these agents more like advanced workflows or simplified Logic Apps — automated, mostly trigger-based sequences for specific tasks + you can guide them with feedback/custom instructions in natural language. Most won’t take action for you, but they’ll help you prioritize (e.g., classifying phish alerts as true or false positive, one-click fixes for users outside existing MFA policies, …)

It’s been over a month since I updated this page, but I hope no one missed North Korea pulling off the largest crypto heist in history via a compromised dev’s laptop at Safe (a 3rd-party crypto storage Bybit uses); read the full breakdown here (another reminder “attackers don’t break in, they log in…”)

Some enthusiasts argue you need every tool below to maintain digital hygiene and protect your online life. One thing’s certain: Signal is widely popular across many types of users — but it’s not without risk according to recent Google threat intelligence.

Karpathy Reference Architecture

There’s was a lot of buzz last month week about this research on the TTPs of an alleged NSA-led hack of a top Chinese university. Although some of it merits skepticism (since some of these tools leaked almost 9 years ago), it’s still an interesting read🕵️

Many of my partners live and breathe by ServiceNow for ticketing and tracking investigations, but did you know we recently launched case management in Defender? If not, read about it here! Now generally available

Most security vendors pitch Zero Trust and phishing-resistant MFA as the foundations, but are you not sure where to start? Grab a coffee and read through our new Zero Trust Deployment Essentials

Product names aren’t the only thing known to change at Microsoft, and certifications are no exception. Read about the retirement of the SC-400 and our new SC-401: Information Security Administrator Certification.

Remember how the U.S. State Department caught Chinese hackers snooping around Microsoft’s email systems? They used the now infamous “Big Yellow Taxi” KQL detections, which you can find here🚕

Other News

There’s a lot coming to Microsoft Sentinel, including multi-tenancy support for the unified SecOps platform, more Codeless Connectors, and SOC Optimization updates🔥

Log Analytics can be tricky, but our new Simple Mode makes it easier than ever before!

If you’re looking for an easier way to consume Microsoft Sentinel’s extensive GitHub repository, this is a helpful catalog.

We also recently launched a Zero Trust partner kit which includes pre-packaged and co-branded resources for you to use with customers. Just add your own branding!

The Microsoft Incident Response team recently created a compilation of incident response/TTP guides, best practices, and threat-hunting strategies, known as the Microsoft Incident Response Ninja Hub.

 

Events🎯

Topic Date Register  
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Microsoft Defender CSPM APR 30 Register
Microsoft Purview What’s new in MIP? MAY 06 Register
Microsoft Purview What’s new in DLP? MAY 07 Register
Microsoft Purview Insider Threats: Are they real? MAY 08 Register
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Secure Your Containers! MAY 13 Register
Microsoft Defender for Cloud XDR Advanced Hunting MAY 15 Register
Microsoft Sentinel Unified SOC: Mastering Multi-tenancy MAY 20 Register
Microsoft Defender XDR MDO Configuration Best Practices MAY 21 Register
Microsoft Defender for Cloud What’s new in Defender for Storage MAY 22 Register
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Defender for SQL MAY 27 Register
Azure Network Security Azure Firewall Management MAY 28 Register
Microsoft Sentinel New Case Management Features MAY 29 Register
Azure Network Security Azure DDoS Protection JUN 05 Register
Microsoft Purview AI Network Level Integration JUN 10 Register
Microsoft Purview New Model for E3/E5 Customers JUN 11 Register
Azure Network Security Mastering Azure WAF Rulesets JUN 26 Register

Start Your Journey

  1. M365 Maps For all things licensing
  2. Get started
  3. Basic cyber hygiene prevents 98% of attacks
  4. Microsoft’s Incident Response Guide
  5. Secure Cloud Business Applications (SCuBA) Project – CISA

Stay Connected🔗

Join our Security Connection Program where you can have influence in helping us shape our products together.

Stay connected with our Security Community, your peers, find guidance and resources, view technical and roadmap related questions, and more.

 

Want to be a Ninja?

Microsoft Ninja trainings are sets of organized learning modules that guide you through the advanced features and functions of our products.

 

Microsoft Cybersecurity Reference Architecture (MCRA)🔒

Cybersecurity Reference Architecture