400 Million Reasons Hackers Will Target Microsoft Again…
Yesterday, like many others in the tech community, I found myself pausing to fully grasp the implications of the Microsoft SharePoint hack. As one of the most widely adopted document management and collaboration platforms globally, SharePoint’s compromise inevitably sends ripples of concern through businesses everywhere.
This news reminded me of a conversation I had just last week with an enterprise customer. We were discussing how one might approach cybersecurity from a hacker’s perspective. A central principle in that hypothetical exercise is the pursuit of maximum impact with minimal effort. Hackers, after all, are often efficient opportunists, targeting widely adopted technologies to maximize disruption and financial gain.
The SharePoint incident perfectly illustrates this risk. Because many organizations rely on SharePoint, the ripple effects of a single breach can become widespread, rapidly causing collective anxiety about individual deployments. Naturally, many IT leaders today are now asking, “How secure is our own implementation?”
This incident also highlights why I consistently advise customers to exercise caution when relying solely on Microsoft security tools, such as Microsoft Defender for Office 365, for email security. With email remaining the primary attack vector (responsible for more than 90% of cyber threats), getting this defense strategy right is critical.
While exact adoption figures for Microsoft Defender for Office 365 are challenging to pinpoint, estimates suggest around 400 million users globally, primarily due to its inclusion within common Microsoft licensing bundles. Viewing this through the lens of a cyber attacker focused on efficiency, a platform of this scale presents an irresistible opportunity, offering substantial disruption and potential financial rewards from just a single successful exploit.
That’s why I encourage organizations to adopt specialized, dedicated solutions for their email security. Platforms such as Abnormal AI, designed explicitly for email threat detection and prevention, provide focused, advanced protection. Investing strategically in dedicated defenses rather than settling for bundled solutions can dramatically reduce exposure and minimize the impact of future breaches.
See how you can strengthen your defenses beyond Microsoft’s built-in tools – schedule a consultation with Teneo today.
Author: Brett Ayres, CTO, Teneo