Microsoft announced Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps back in November 2021 as an extension of the company’s Defender series of software security products and services. In basic terms, it offers a suite of tools and features designed to protect a company’s cloud-based apps and the data they access.
Today, Microsoft announced that Defender for Cloud Apps is expanding its scope to include browser-based cloud apps via the Edge for Business browser.
In a blog post, Microsoft stated:
The in-browser protection removes the need for proxies, improving both security and productivity, based on session policies that are applied directly to the browser.
Depending on the risk associated with the user, such as when they are logging in from an unmanaged device, admins can restrict app access or create granular policies that prevent downloads, uploads, copying, cutting, or printing actions during a session.
Once Defender for Cloud Apps has been set up by admins for Edge, the browser can block access to downloading suspicious files, along with blocks to upload certain files and more. The blog post states:
Specifically, when a user attempts to download a file containing sensitive credit card information from a SharePoint site via the Edge for Business browser, Defender for Cloud App will enforce the session policy to block this action. These restrictions are implemented seamlessly for users without affecting their productivity.
In addition, admins should have to do very little work to set up Defender for Cloud Apps for their company’s Edge browser, as it will use the built-in controls in that browser automatically.
If an Edge for Business browser has been set up to use Defender for Cloud Apps, those users will be able to tell by seeing a new “lock” icon in the URL bar on top.
So far, Edge for Business is the only browser that can use the Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps. There’s no word if Microsoft plans to expand its support for other browsers, such as Google Chrome.