Microsoft Defender · XDR Specialists
Microsoft Defender. Deployed properly.
IronSights are Microsoft Defender for Endpoint specialists. We configure and manage the full Microsoft Defender XDR suite — endpoints, email, identity, and cloud apps.
Most organisations use around 10 per cent of Defender's capability. We deploy the rest: ASR rules, tamper protection, cloud protection, and the full detection engine tuned for your environment.
The full XDR suite
Four products. One integrated platform.
Microsoft Defender XDR unifies endpoint, email, identity, and cloud app security into one correlated alert queue.
We configure each product to ASD standards, then unify them. One console, one response workflow, one monthly report.
Defender for Endpoint
Next-gen AV, EDR, and ASR across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Behavioural detection catches what signatures miss.
Defender for Office 365
Threat protection for email, SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive. Stops the phishing and malware Exchange Online Protection lets through.
Defender for Identity
Spots lateral movement, credential theft, and privilege escalation in Active Directory. Catches the attacker already inside.
Defender for Cloud Apps
Visibility over every SaaS app touching your environment. Surfaces shadow IT, blocks risky apps, and governs OAuth integrations.
What's included
The full deployment, properly configured.
Eight workstreams across the Defender XDR platform. Each one tuned for your environment, monitored continuously, and reported monthly.
Defender assessment
Audit of your current Defender configuration against best practice. Gaps identified and prioritised before any changes are made.
ASR rule deployment
Attack surface reduction rules configured for your application portfolio. Aggressive enough to catch threats, tuned not to break workflows.
Tamper protection
Defender's own security settings locked against modification by malware or compromised administrator accounts.
Cloud protection enabled
Real-time sample submission and cloud-delivered protection enabled for all endpoints. Catches zero-day threats.
Intune integration
Defender deployed and managed via Microsoft Intune for consistent policy enforcement across every device in your fleet.
24/7 SOC monitoring
Alert triage and response handled by IronSights. You don't need to watch the dashboard — we do.
Threat & vulnerability mgmt
Device health, missing patches, and exposed vulnerabilities surfaced continuously and reported monthly.
MDO phishing protection
Safe Links, Safe Attachments, anti-phishing, and spoof intelligence configured and tuned for your mail flow.
Out of the box is not good enough
Microsoft Defender ships with conservative defaults to avoid disrupting business operations. The features that stop attacks — ASR rules, tamper protection, block mode — are not on by default. We turn them on, and tune them so they work without breaking legitimate workflows.
- ASR rules tuned for your application set
- Tamper protection and cloud protection enabled
- Block mode activated for EDR
- Automated investigation and response configured
Defender for Endpoint capabilities
- Next-gen AV with cloud protection
- Endpoint detection and response (EDR)
- Attack surface reduction (ASR) rules
- Automated investigation and response
- Threat and vulnerability management
- Device health compliance reporting
- Defender for Identity AD protection
- Defender for Cloud Apps shadow IT discovery
What you gain
Full Defender capability, finally switched on.
Four concrete outcomes from a properly configured Defender deployment, measured from day one of your engagement.
Attacks blocked at source
ASR rules, tamper protection, and behavioural detection prevent the most common attack techniques before they execute. Not just detected — blocked.
Visibility across endpoints
Every device in your fleet reporting health status, threat detections, and vulnerability exposure. Nothing running unmanaged.
Faster response
When Defender raises an alert, our SOC triages and responds. You're not watching a dashboard — we are. Automated investigation closes simple cases immediately.
Improving posture
Defender's threat and vulnerability management surfaces what's missing. We work through the backlog monthly, so your endpoint posture improves continuously.
We already have Defender — why do we need IronSights?
Having Defender licences and having Defender properly configured are different things. Most environments we review have ASR rules not deployed, tamper protection off, cloud protection limited, and alerts nobody is watching. We close those gaps and monitor the platform continuously.
What Defender products do you cover?
We cover the full Microsoft Defender XDR suite: Defender for Endpoint, Defender for Office 365, Defender for Identity, and Defender for Cloud Apps. Each product is configured independently and feeds into a unified alert queue.
Do you monitor Defender alerts 24/7?
Yes. Alert triage and response is handled by IronSights for all Defender monitoring engagements. We triage every alert, close false positives, and escalate genuine threats to your team with clear context and recommended actions.
How does Defender integrate with Microsoft Sentinel?
We connect Defender's alert feed into Microsoft Sentinel for centralised SIEM and SOAR capability where required. For most SME environments, the native Microsoft Defender portal is sufficient. We recommend Sentinel for organisations with more complex correlation and compliance requirements.
Is Defender monitoring included in Fortify?
Yes. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint deployment and 24/7 SOC monitoring is included in Fortify managed security. If you want Defender configuration and monitoring as a standalone engagement, we offer it separately.
Already have Defender?
Let us check if it's actually protecting you.
Most Defender deployments we review have significant configuration gaps. An assessment takes less than a day and tells you exactly where you stand.