Microsoft has added command-and-control traffic detection capabilities to its Microsoft Defender for Endpoint enterprise endpoint security platform.
The C2 connections are detected by the Defender for Endpoint’s Network Protection agent by mapping the outbound connection’s IP address, port, hostname, and other values with data from Microsoft Cloud.
After the malicious connection is detected, a “Network Protection blocked a potential C2 connection” alert will be added to the Microsoft 365 Defender portal, providing SecOps team members with details, including the severity level and the impacted assets, and the activity timespan.
“With the new capabilities in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SecOps teams can detect network C2 attacks earlier in the attack chain, minimize the spread by rapidly blocking any further attack propagation, and reduce the time it takes to mitigate by easily removing malicious binaries.”
The prerequisites include Microsoft Defender Antivirus with active real-time protection and cloud-delivered protection, MDE in active mode, network protection in block mode, and engine version 1.1.17300.
Last month, Microsoft also said tamper protection would soon be turned on by default in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for better defense against ransomware attacks.
