Last updated on January 5, 2026
Microsoft Defender for Identity Cheat Sheet
- Enables you to identify, detect, and investigate advanced threats in your organization.
- Allows you to monitor user activities and information.
- Requires a Microsoft 365 E5, E5 Security, or a standalone Defender for Identity license for deployment.
- Uses a light-weight sensor installed on Domain Controllers to analyze network traffic and authentication events.S
- Integrates alerts and data into the unified Microsoft 365 Defender portal for a centralized security view.
- Identify and investigate advanced threats throughout the entire cyber-attack kill chain:
- Reconnaissance – identify attempts by attackers to gain information.
- Compromised credentials – any attempts that compromise user credentials shall be detected.
- Lateral movements – attacks to gain access to sensitive accounts.
- Domain dominance – the attacker has the credentials to access your domain controller. This includes detection of attacks that steal and abuse certificates from Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS).
- Exfiltration – unauthorized data transfer.
-
Provides automated investigation of alerts and maps lateral movement paths between users and critical assets based on Active Directory permissions.
Microsoft Defender for Identity Cheat Sheet References:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ww/security/business/threat-protection/identity-defender
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-for-identity/what-is
🧑💻 AWS Foundation Sale – Certified Cloud & AI Practitioner Mock Exams for only $12.99 each!
Learn AWS with our PlayCloud Hands-On Labs
$2.99 AWS and Azure Exam Study Guide eBooks
New AWS Generative AI Developer Professional Course AIP-C01
Learn GCP By Doing! Try Our GCP PlayCloud
Learn Azure with our Azure PlayCloud
FREE AI and AWS Digital Courses
FREE AWS, Azure, GCP Practice Test Samplers
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Follow Us On Linkedin
Written by: Jon Bonso
Jon Bonso is the co-founder of Tutorials Dojo, an EdTech startup and an AWS Digital Training Partner that provides high-quality educational materials in the cloud computing space. He graduated from Mapúa Institute of Technology in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in Information Technology. Jon holds 10 AWS Certifications and is also an active AWS Community Builder since 2020.
