Perform Device Investigations (part 2)

By Ashwin Venugopal -

 




To read part 1 please click here


Behavioral Blocking

Today's threat landscape is full of fileless malware that lives off the land, highly polymorphic threats that mutates faster than the traditional solutions can keep up with, as well as human-operated attacks that adapt to what the adversaries find on compromised devices and the traditional solutions are not sufficient to stop such attacks.

Behavioral blocking and containment capabilities can help you to identify and stop the threats based on their behaviors and process trees even when the threat has already started. The next-generation protection, EDR, and the Defender for Endpoint components and features works together with behavioral blocking and containment capabilities.  

It works with the multiple components and features of Defender for Endpoint to stop attacks immediately as well as prevent the attacks from progressing.

  • Next-generation protection (which includes Microsoft Defender Antivirus) can easily detect threats by analyzing behaviors and stop the threats that have already started running.

  • Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) receives security signals across your network, devices, and kernel behavior. multiple alerts of the same types are aggregated into the incidents, which makes it easier for your security operations team for investigate and respond.

  • Defender for Endpoint has a wide range of optics across identities, email, data, and apps, as well as the network, endpoint, and kernel behavior signals received through the EDR. A component of Microsoft 365 Defender, Defender for Endpoint processes and correlates these signals, raises detection alerts, and connects related alerts in the incidents.    

All these capabilities, helps you to prevent or block more threats, even if they start running and whenever a suspicious behavior is detected, the threat is contained, alerts are created, as well as the threats are stopped in their tracks. 

Client behavioral blocking

Client behavioral blocking is a component of the behavioral blocking and containment capabilities in the Defender for Endpoint and as soon as the suspicious behaviors are detected on devices, artifacts are blocked, checked, and remediated automatically.

How client behavioral blocking works?

Microsoft Defender Antivirus can easily detect suspicious behavior, malicious code, fileless and in-memory attacks, and more on the devices after which they are sent to the cloud protection service. As soon as an artifact is found malicious, it's blocked on the device. 

Client behavioral blocking is effective because it not only helps to prevent an attack from starting, but it can also help stop an attack that has begun executing and with the feedback-loop blocking, attacks are prevented on the other devices in your organization. 

Feedback-loop blocking

Feedback-loop blocking, also known as rapid protection, is a component of behavioral blocking as well as containment capabilities in the Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and with the feedback-loop blocking, devices across your organization are better protected from attacks.

How feedback-loop blocking works?

Whenever a suspicious behavior or file is detected, like by the Microsoft Defender Antivirus, information about that artifact is sent to the multiple classifiers and the rapid protection loop engine inspects as well as correlates the information with the other signals to arrive at a decision as to whether to block a file. Checking and classifying the artifacts happens quickly which results in the rapid blocking of the confirmed malware as well as drives protection across the entire ecosystem.

As the rapid protection is in place, an attack can be stopped on a device, other devices in the organization, and the devices in the other organizations, as an attack attempts to broaden its foothold. 

Endpoint Detection and Response in block mode

When EDR in block mode is turned on, Defender for Endpoint blocks malicious artifacts or behaviors that are observed through post-breach protection. It works behind the scenes to remediate malicious artifacts that are detected post-breach.

It is also integrated with the threat and vulnerability management. Your organization's security team will get a security recommendation to turn EDR in block mode on if it isn't already enabled.

What happens if something is detected?

Whenever EDR in block mode is turned on and a malicious artifact is detected, blocking and remediation actions are taken. You will see the detection status as Blocked or prevented as completed actions in the Action Center. 

    


To read part 1 please click here













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