Microsoft Defender for Office 365 gets highest rating in SE Labs Enterprise Email Security Services test for Q1 2023

In the ever-evolving world of cybersecurity, email remains a primary attack vector for cybercriminals, making effective email protection a foundational piece of any organization’s security strategy. 

In Q1 2023, Microsoft was once again part of an evaluation of email security platforms conducted by SE Labs. SE Labs has been industry-renowned for assessing the effectiveness of security solutions for nearly a decade, and in their latest report, various email security vendors’ solutions were tested against a range of simulated email attack scenarios.  

We are thrilled to announce that Microsoft Defender for Office 365 has once again received an AAA Protection Award, the highest possible that a vendor can achieve in this test.  

Empowering thousands of teams worldwide, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 provides robust security against advanced threats like phishing, business email compromise (BEC), credential phishing, spear phishing, and ransomware over email. With a wide range of protection features, that leverage advanced machine learning and sophisticated heuristics, Defender for Office 365 identifies and neutralizes attacks with exceptional detection breadth, to facilitate a secure email environment for any type of organization.  

In the SE Labs report, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 received the AAA Protection Award based on the following criteria: 

• 81 percent of emails that contained threats were blocked. 
• 100 percent of email that was legitimate was correctly identified. 

The testing methodology used in the report was designed to emulate real-world scenarios as close as possible. For testing threat detection, a collection of email threats was compiled, including phishing emails, BEC attempts, and other forms of malicious content. These were sourced from a variety of channels to ensure a representative sample. Simultaneously, legitimate emails were prepared to test the ability to identify non-threatening communications.   

This high score on threat containment demonstrates the exceptional email security protection Microsoft provides and the effectiveness with which Microsoft Defender for Office 365 can protect customers from BEC. Meanwhile, the perfect score for correctly identifying legitimate email shows our commitment to ensuring that important communications are not mistakenly flagged as threats.  

Even with this already high level of accuracy, the core functionality that drives automated threat detection in Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is built from the ground up to embody continuous improvement and adaptation. Our AI-powered algorithms continue to train from each real-world interaction, to become more capable over time. This commitment to growth and learning is another key factor that differentiates Microsoft in the field of email security.  

However, no matter how accurate, automated threat detection is not the only key component of an effective cybersecurity strategy. A proactive security culture that engages users is an indispensable element of any comprehensive security solution, which is why attack and phishing simulation training is also core component of Microsoft Defender for Office 365. With user training that continuously runs exercises to educate employees and senior leaders to raise their awareness of real-life phishing attacks, organizations can keep their most sensitive and important information secure.   

Beyond identifying threats and legitimate email, Defender for Office 365 also uses advanced AI to disrupt attacks in their early stages, providing an additional layer of protection. This is particularly important for protecting against BEC. This AI-driven system is designed to recognize and respond to such threats, ensuring business communications remain secure and trustworthy.  

The SE Labs report validates that Microsoft Defender for Office 365, part of Microsoft 365 Defender, continues to be a leading choice for email protection, trusted by organizations and companies worldwide.  

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 provides comprehensive coverage, both through the lifecycle of an attack and across email and collaboration tools like email, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive. These capabilities are part of Microsoft’s extended detection and response (XDR) solution, Microsoft 365 Defender, which helps organizations secure their users with integrated threat protection, detection, and response across endpoints, email, identities, applications, and data.  

To take advantage of our advanced email protection in your environment, get started with Microsoft Defender for Office 365 today! 

Learn more

To learn more about Microsoft Security solutions, visit our website. Bookmark the Security blog to keep up with our expert coverage on security matters. Also, follow us on LinkedIn (Microsoft Security) and Twitter (@MSFTSecurity) for the latest news and updates on cybersecurity