5 Key Takeaways: What’s Next in Security from Microsoft Digital Event

There is no doubt that cyber security is on the forefront of people’s minds. From the very visible attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure, to businesses across the globe that are suffering at the hands of nefarious attackers, companies want to know that their data and their platforms are safe. Microsoft, a leader in the world’s cybersecurity, recently hosted a dynamic webinar to discuss the cybersecurity challenges the world is facing, as well as to discuss new Microsoft products that will take security to a higher level. Difenda had a front row seat to the webinar, as our client’s security is always our number one priority.  

Current Landscape 

There is no doubt that cyber attacks, especially those on ransomware, continue to put corporate landscapes at risk. Companies are losing countless hours of productive work time and huge chunks of revenue in order to right their ship after these calamitous events.  According to Vasu Jakkal, Corporate Vice President Security, Compliance, and Identity at Microsoft, over six trillion dollars is spent each year to fight cybercrime, and the number is expected to top ten trillion by 2025.

Read our Global Cyberthreat Advisory: Russia’s Attack On Ukraine

Microsoft’s vision for the future 

Microsoft is committed to meeting this crisis head-on, and will prioritize the security needs of their customers. One critical issue is that company infrastructures have often been built over a time span of months and years, and through many acquisitions. These infrastructures now contain a myriad of clouds, platforms, and applications. Microsoft has created a security ecosystem to encircle each company’s entire cyber environment, in order to keep each part safe.

“Customers have complex infrastures that are built over a long period of time. When you think about the security of these structures, multi-cloud is really important, or there will be seams. It requires an ecosystem,” Charlie Bell, Executive Vice President, Security, Compliance, Identity and Management, said. 

Defend your assets with Defender Cloud

To that end, Microsoft is launching new products and services that will keep its customers more safe and secure. Defender Cloud recently upgraded the security effectiveness for multi-cloud, and to enhance Google Cloud Platform environmental support. With this move, Microsoft becomes the only provider that offers cloud protection across the top three cloud supports: Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and now Google Cloud Platform. At once customers will have more holistic access to all of their environments, as well as the ability to control all of their identities and permissions. Defender Cloud uncovers vulnerabilities across multiple platforms in order to protect companies no matter how many users and infrastructure connections they have. This system both strengthens the defense across multi-cloud and hybrid uses, and reduces complexity. 

Grant permission carefully with Cloud Knox

Another important way Microsoft can keep businesses safe is with their new Cloud Knox application, which investigates permission usage data, and then utilizes only the permissions that are imperative in day-to-day operations, removing any risky or unnecessary permissions. This program enables Zero Trust Security through least privilege access in Microsoft Azure, as it exposes, right-sizes, and oversees all access and privileges. 

Utilize Sentinel to sift through large data stores

Finally, Microsoft is focusing on the large amount of data that companies are currently juggling. Microsoft reports that 76% of organizations have witnessed their log data growing exponentially. Microsoft Sentinel is integrating new capabilities so that companies can search across long time spans in large datasets. Sentinel also is broadening their multi-cloud strategy, as they enrich the capabilities of searching for evidence of attacks, and doing it in a more cost-effective way. 

Let Difenda help you design and implement your Azure Sentinel via our Rapid Cover™. This 2 week engagement will help you kick off your future with the Sentinel platform. Get more information here.

Difenda takes the fear out of running your business

Difenda is proud to partner with Microsoft, who takes cybersecurity so seriously and innovates around-the-clock to make the world safer. Microsoft understands that infrastructure is often created in a piecemeal fashion, but must be protected holistically. They also work hard to safeguard permissions, so no miscreants can sneak in the back door. Lastly, they are diligent in innovating new strategies to deal with the log jam of log data that many companies experience. Let Difenda and Microsoft furnish your company with these new defense strategies, so you can spend your time running your business instead of running in fear.

Find out what’s included in our Difenda Shield product demo!

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Ken Perkins

Biography coming soon.

Megan Miller

Megan Miller’s energy and passion for learning flow into all aspects of her work. As the Growth Manager, North America, she brings a background in sciences which she has transitioned to the tech sector in her role at Difenda.

With a Bachelors of Science in Geology, Megan is a lifelong learner who is voracious about learning anything she can get her hands on about cybersecurity. Her positive energy has built a sales strategy with a focus on expanding in the United States while nurturing the Canadian presence. She is responsible for recruiting and training the sales team. Together with the company’s leadership, she creates the sales process and the company’s product strategy in order to better serve the customer base. This ensures that our customers have a highly trained and highly motivated team to help them every step of the way, Megan has completed Microsoft SC-900 training and working towards mastering Microsoft.

Whether at work or play, Megan is fully committed. She took her love of hockey all the way to the semi-professional level as a competitive hockey player. Megan loves all things sports including water skiing, scuba diving, cycling, and snowboarding. She also enjoys time with family and reading about alternative energy, innovation, and cybersecurity.

Natasha Phanor

As the Microsoft Partner Manager at Difenda, Natasha Phanor is responsible for driving growth within our Microsoft Partnership. With six years in the industry, she offers a fresh, energetic approach, and the ability to focus on our customer’s needs throughout the entire process. Natasha has the innate ability to foresee customer needs and solve problems before they arise, which creates a smooth road for each customer she encounters.

As the recipient of the Outstanding Services Partner of the Year Award in 2018, it is clear that Natasha responds quickly to customer needs, creates a platform for understanding a customer’s business requirements, and walks them through the process to ensure their complete satisfaction.

In her spare time, Natasha is as energetic and passionate as she is on the job. A self-proclaimed foodie-extraordinaire, she enjoys dinner parties, traveling, downhill skiing, hiking, biking, and reading. Natasha has a Bachelor of Fine Arts, specializing in Dance, from Ryerson University.

Lisa Templeton

Lisa Templeton is the perfect combination of human empathy and technological prowess. In her role as People Services Manager, she takes care of our team members to support them in their daily work, as well as on their personal life paths. Happy employees make for happy customers, and Lisa excels in giving our employees the tools they need for success in order to become the best possible versions of themselves. Along with employee formation, she shines in the service delivery support domain to continuously improve the process. Her 24 years of experience in IT Operations and Service Management help her create quality and efficiency at Difenda.

Having attended the Information Systems Management certificate program at Ryerson University, and with various other certifications to her credit, Lisa is perceptive and innovative when it comes to information technology, but also sensitive to the needs of her human constituents. Responsible for achieving the first privately owned company HDI Support Center certification in Canada, she has also designed and implemented Service Management excellence programs and 24×7 IT Operations departments for multiple IT organizations, and has created corporate rewards and recognition programs to keep her employees engaged and motivated.

On the personal side, Lisa passionately supports the cause of breast cancer research, having lost her mother to the disease. She reads voraciously in her spare time, and enjoys the art of home renovation. The summer months also bring time on her boat and exploring new hiking trails.

Miranda McCurdy

Miranda McCurdy uses her myriad super powers in all aspects of her job and personal life. As the Marketing Director at Difenda, Miranda McCurdy brings over a decade of experience to the table, which includes expertise in all facets of operations, brand management, and content marketing, as well as a multitude of successful strategies for the ever-expanding digital world. She is an expert at simplifying the message the company is trying to send, filling in gaps in the information, and strengthening the content in order to create compelling narratives that strengthen the brand and developing programs that bring teams together.

With several Addy Awards issued by the American Advertising Federation Cleveland to her credit, and her never say die attitude, Miranda understands both the broader picture and the minute details that are needed to successfully market a product. With her abilities to harness both the talent needed to spread the message, as well as to create the message itself, she is an integral cog in the company’s ability to communicate with customers and other stakeholders.

When she is not building a brand, she shares her ability to fill the gaps in her community by volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, the Special Olympics, and the Charleston Food Bank. In her spare time, Miranda spends time with her family, enjoys fitness and health, paddle boarding, reading, and arts and crafts.

Juliana Zaremba

Connections are the name of the game for Juliana Zaremba. As Strategic Partnerships Director, she is responsible for Difenda’s channel partnerships and the development and ownership of the channel partner program. She is also responsible for the global Microsoft Partnership, including the creation of strategic plans with MSFT contacts that will facilitate the continued growth of the business and establish certification and training protocols in all security technologies. Her role is multifaceted, as she acquires partners, manages relationships with them, and develops strategies that will provide cutting edge security solutions to our customer base. Another integral aspect of her job is to facilitate growth.

With a Bachelor’s in Math from the University of Waterloo and 14 years of experience from her previous roles at Herjavec Group and CDW, her cutting edge focus and ability to develop long-lasting relationships and strategies provides world class security solutions to our customer base.

Juliana thrives on connections outside of work as well. She is a philanthropist and contributor with Women4Change based in Hamilton. This group of local women is passionate about supporting local causes, and she focuses her efforts around Women in STEM. She is also a member of Club Italia in Niagara Falls and supports their youth events throughout the year.

When not managing the Microsoft Global partnership, Juliana enjoys reading, often reading several books at once. Juliana enjoys exploring the Niagara Escarpment with her family, as well as sharing meals and experiences with her extended family. Juliana’s competitive nature has her always trying new things, like Whoop band challenges and Peloton.

Jeffry Jacob

Biography Coming Soon