Microsoft has finally announced the public preview of its antivirus app for Android. The preview version of Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) is now available. The app will safeguard Android users against a range of security threats and challenges lurking around. The announcement came nearly a year after the Redmond-based company rolled out a public preview for its Defender ATP on macOS.
Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection is a security platform for Enterprise. The product has been there for a long time and offered for computers and desktop along with support for USB and removable devices. The same is now available for Android devices. The number of threats has increased for smartphones, and since employees do access company data from their smartphones, it becomes risky without any sort of security. Microsoft has announced Defender ATP for Android, which includes web protection, malware scanning, and more.
Microsoft Defender ATP for Android now available
To recall, Microsoft initially offered a preview of some of the key capabilities of Microsoft Defender ATP for Android at the RSA Conference 2020. The company claims it received a fairly positive and overwhelming response from its customers as well as the cybersecurity industry as a whole. Microsoft Defender ATP for Android has been in the works for several months now.
“We’re leveraging our unique visibility into the threat landscape and the vast signal, intelligence, and security expertise we have from across domains, such as our expertise in phishing and email, our endpoint threat research on malware and attacker techniques, and our focus on identity and zero trust to bring protection capabilities to mobile,” said Rob Lefferts, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft 365 Security.
It goes without saying that Defender ATP will restrict access to corporate data from devices that are risky. Once the device is rolled into the program, Microsoft Defender Security Center will offer admins a centralized view of threats on Android devices along with other platforms. Here is the list of features you get from Defender ATP for Android.
- Web protection
- Malware scanning
- Blocking access to sensitive data
- Unified SecOps experience
Those who want to give it a try need to turn on preview features in the Microsoft Defender Security Center.
Key features and capabilities of Microsoft Defender ATP for Android
Microsoft Defender ATP for Android wants to safeguard users against phishing and unreliable, insecure network connections from apps, websites, and malicious apps. The app preview can also prevent users from accessing company data from ‘risky’ devices. It will enable companies to protect their users and data on Android. Security alerts from Microsoft Defender ATP will be available via Microsoft Defender Security Center.
Web protection appears to be one of the main objectives of Microsoft Defender ATP for Android. In fact, web protection is further divided into several parts such as anti-phishing, blocking unsafe connections, and custom indicators, etc. The app also offers a feature that checks for potential malware threats.
How to get started with Microsoft Defender ATP for Android
Licensed customers who have enabled preview features can get started with Microsoft Defender ATP for Android. Interested customers must enable preview features in the Microsoft Defender Security Center. Android devices can be enrolled in Microsoft Defender ATP via the Intune Company Portal app, which is the only supported Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution to deploy Microsoft Defender ATP for Android.
