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Microsoft security for your email, identities, devices and cloud
Microsoft Defender protects your email, identities, devices and cloud workloads from one portal, and Microsoft Entra ID controls who gets in. Cactoz sets them up for businesses in Singapore and Malaysia.
We deploy and configure these tools around how your team works: who signs in and from where, which devices connect, and where your data lives.
For ongoing monitoring and support plans, see our Managed IT Support & Security Services page.
KEY AREAS OF CLOUD & SECURITY
Engineered to unify every department of your small or medium-sized enterprise.
Threat protection
Microsoft’s 2025 Digital Defense Report found that over half of cyberattacks with a known motive were driven by extortion or ransomware. Microsoft Defender XDR (extended detection and response) brings alerts from endpoints, identities, email and collaboration tools, and cloud applications into a single incident queue in the Defender portal, and can disrupt an attack automatically.
For smaller teams, Defender for Business protects Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices. It is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium, which supports up to 300 users.
• Endpoint protection, detection and response with Defender for Business.
• Email protection with Safe Links and Safe Attachments, through Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 in Business Premium.
• Microsoft Sentinel, a cloud-native SIEM for collecting and analysing security logs. From 31 March 2027 it is available only in the Defender portal.
Identity and access
The same report says multifactor authentication can block over 99% of identity-based attacks. Microsoft Entra ID decides who can sign in to your Microsoft apps and what they can reach, and Conditional Access adds if-then rules on top: if someone signs in from an unfamiliar location or an unmanaged device, require multifactor authentication or block access.
Sign-in itself is changing. From 1 September 2026 Microsoft is making passkeys, a phishing-resistant method, the default sign-in experience in Entra ID. It retires its own SMS and voice verification from 1 February 2027 for most users.
• Multifactor authentication for staff and administrators, including passkeys.
• Conditional Access policies based on user, location, device and application.
• Blocking legacy authentication protocols.
Data protection
Protecting data starts with knowing what is sensitive and controlling where it goes, and that matters more as staff try AI tools at work. Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes email encryption, sensitive data labelling, and file protection across Microsoft 365 apps and SharePoint. For applications on Azure, Azure Key Vault keeps secrets, encryption keys and certificates out of your code.
• Sensitivity labels for documents and email.
• Email encryption.
• Azure Key Vault for secrets, keys and certificates.
Cloud workloads with Defender for Cloud
If you run servers, databases or applications in Azure, Microsoft Defender for Cloud checks how they are configured and protects them from threats. Microsoft describes it as a cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP), and it also covers AWS, Google Cloud and on-premises systems. We set it up for Azure environments, including those hosting Business Central.
• Cloud security posture management (CSPM), which finds misconfigurations and recommends fixes.
• Workload protection for virtual machines, containers, storage and databases.
• Coverage across Azure, AWS, Google Cloud and on-premises systems.
Compliance tooling
Microsoft provides tools that help you check your settings against a standard and keep a record of activity. We set them up and show you how to read them. They do not make you compliant on their own, because that depends on your own policies and processes. Which features you get depends on your licence, so we check your plan first.
• Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager: assessments built from more than 360 regulatory templates, with a compliance score and step-by-step improvement actions.
• Microsoft Purview Audit: a unified log of user and administrator activity, kept for 180 days on the Standard tier.
WHY CHOOSE CLOUD & SECURITY?
One incident queue
Defender brings alerts from endpoints, identities, email and cloud applications together, so your team is not checking separate consoles.
Already in plans you may hold
Defender for Business, multifactor authentication and email protection come with Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
Zero Trust, in plain terms
Microsoft's guidance for small businesses rests on three ideas: verify explicitly, use least privilege, and assume breach. These tools put them into practice.
Zero Trust, in plain terms
Microsoft's guidance for small businesses rests on three ideas: verify explicitly, use least privilege, and assume breach. These tools put them into practice.
Automated investigation and response
Defender can investigate alerts and remediate on affected devices without waiting for someone to step in.
Sized for growing businesses
Defender for Business is designed for organisations of up to 300 users, with guided setup and default security policies.
Security that fits a growing business
Benefits
- Fewer passwords to steal. Passkeys and multifactor authentication reduce how much depends on a password that can be guessed, phished or reused.
- Faster answers when something looks wrong. Alerts arrive in one queue with automated investigation, so you can see what happened and on which device.
- Control over the devices your staff use. Intune manages company and personally owned devices, and Conditional Access can challenge or block sign-ins from devices you do not manage.
- Sensitive files and email stay protected. Sensitivity labels and encryption mark and protect sensitive documents and messages.
- Visibility into cloud workloads. Defender for Cloud shows how your Azure servers and databases are configured and recommends fixes.
- A record of activity. Microsoft Purview Audit keeps a log of user and administrator activity, for 180 days on the Standard tier.
Features
- Microsoft Defender XDR: a single incident queue across endpoints, identities, email and collaboration tools, and cloud applications, with automatic attack disruption.
- Microsoft Defender for Business: next-generation protection, endpoint detection and response, attack surface reduction, automated investigation and remediation, and vulnerability management. Included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
- Microsoft Entra ID with Conditional Access: sign-in rules based on user, location, device and application, including multifactor authentication and passkeys.
- Microsoft Intune: device and app management for company and personally owned devices.
- Microsoft Defender for Cloud: cloud security posture management and workload protection across Azure, AWS, Google Cloud and on-premises systems.
- Microsoft Sentinel: a cloud-native SIEM and SOAR for collecting and analysing security logs and automating responses.
By leveraging these benefits and features, businesses can enhance their security measures, protect their data, and ensure compliance with industry standards.
Quickly Find Your Answers.
What Microsoft security services does Cactoz provide?
We set up and configure Microsoft security tools for businesses in Singapore and Malaysia. That covers Defender for devices, email and cloud workloads, Microsoft Entra ID with multifactor authentication and Conditional Access, data protection, and Microsoft’s compliance tools. We also provide Azure hosting and management.
What are passkeys, and what is changing for Microsoft sign-ins?
A passkey is a phishing-resistant sign-in method that can replace a password or a code sent by SMS. Microsoft is making passkeys the default sign-in experience in Microsoft Entra ID from 1 September 2026. It retires its own SMS and voice verification from 1 February 2027 for most users, and from 1 July 2027 for Global Administrators and external users. We help you plan the change and register your users before then.
What is Zero Trust, and does a small business need it?
Zero Trust is an approach built on three ideas: verify explicitly, use least privilege, and assume breach. You do not buy it as a product. Microsoft’s guidance for small businesses applies it through Microsoft 365 Business Premium: multifactor authentication, protected administrator accounts, Defender for Business, and email protection with Safe Links and Safe Attachments.
Do we need Defender for Cloud if we already have Microsoft 365 Business Premium?
Not necessarily. Business Premium covers your users, devices, email and identities. Defender for Cloud protects servers, databases and other workloads running in Azure or other clouds, so it is worth reviewing if you run workloads in the cloud. Cactoz provides Azure setup, migration and management in Singapore and Malaysia, including hosting for Business Central.
Do you offer ongoing security monitoring?
Yes, through our Managed IT Support & Security Services plans. They include threat monitoring and, at the top tier, SIEM. That page has the plan details.