Microsoft started out by announcing it would release the new Edge web browser for Linux. Next came MS Teams. Continuing that cross-platform effort, Microsoft is set to release Microsoft Defender ATP for the open source platform. Microsoft’s stated goal was to build security solutions “not only for Microsoft, but from Microsoft.”

According to many MS customers, they’ve had to deal with attack vectors across a range of platforms and products. That includes Linux. And with the continued rise of Linux on Azure, it became clear to Microsoft they’d need to offer a security solution for more than just Windows and mac OS.

What is Microsoft Defender ATP? According to Microsoft, it is “...a unified endpoint platform for preventative protection, post-breach detection, automated investigation, and response.” In other words, Defender ATP is an enterprise-grade security solution that goes beyond the standard antivirus service. Unlike the standard Windows Defender, ATP works on behavioral analysis to collect usage data and store it on the same system. When Defender ATP notices inconsistent behavior, it sends the data to a service that compares it to a collected data, and then offers up advice or solutions.

Microsoft Defender ATP for Linux will be made available to Microsoft customers some time in 2020. However, the public preview should be open soon and will be available to install on RHEL 7+, CentOS Linux 7+, Ubuntu 16 LTS or higher, SLES 12+, Debian 9+, and Oracle EL 7.

Microsoft Defender ATP for Linux will include both command line and GUI tools.

Original source: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-defender-atp/microsoft-defender-atp-for-linux-is-coming-and-a-sneak-peek-into/ba-p/1192251#