Microsoft has made its Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) antivirus software available to Android users. Users are now able to install a first version of the product. The product, called “Microsoft Defender ATP for Android ,” was announced at the RSA security conference in February, and today we have the first public preview.
Companies using Microsoft Defender ATP protection have a new option in their dashboard that allows them to enable the feature and deploy the Android app to devices employee
This new Android app will work like a classic antivirus product that scans the phone for malicious apps and malware , detects malicious and phishing sites as the user browses the web, and blocks the user from accessing dangerous content.
Microsoft says the Defender ATP app for Android also comes with some hidden features, thanks to its integration with the larger and more complex Defender ATP, Intune, and Configuration Manager platforms
The application protects corporate networksby allowing IT staff to “lock” an Android smartphone outside the corporate network and prevent accessing users
“When Microsoft Defender ATP for Android finds that a device has malicious apps installed, it will mark the device as ‘high risk’ and flag it in the Microsoft Defender Security Center,” Kanishka Srivastava, Senior Program Manager at Microsoft, said today.
According to Srivastava, a company's security staff can then block any device that has been added to the "high-risk" list , preventing the risky devices from accessing corporate resources, such as Outlook servers and OneDrive accounts.
Microsoft hopes that Microsoft Defender ATP for Android will be able to block potentially dangerous Android devices that could act as entry points into corporate networks. Hackers could use them to gain access to company networks and steal data or infect them with malware .
Additionally, as with the Windows version, suspicious event detections will be logged and sent back to each customer's Microsoft Defender Security Center.
Currently, Microsoft Defender ATP is only available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Microsoft released the first public preview for Linux in February, when it announced future public previews for Android and iOS.
Additional information about the public preview of Microsoft Defender ATP for Android is available on the official Microsoft page.
