Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
Cloud and workloadsCloud app catalog and risk scores | Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
In brief
The article updates its date and metadata, replaces “Microsoft Defender XDR” with “Defender portal,” and clarifies wording about app scoring, parameter weights, and follow-up guidance.
What Defender admins need to know
Use the updated Defender portal navigation and clarified parameter-weight instructions when following the article.
Summaries are generated from the documentation change itself.
Documentation change
View on Microsoft LearnThe comparison below shows only the changed extract. Use the full-page view for complete context.
:::image type="content" source="media/cloud-app-catalog.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing the cloud app catalog" lightbox="media/cloud-app-catalog.png":::
Apps in the cloud app catalog are scored based on more than 90 risk factors. This article describesThe following sections describe how to identify apps covered by the catalog, and how to use and customize the cloud app risk scores.
Risk scoring process
Defender for Cloud Apps rates risks based on regulatory certification, industry standards, and best practices. The score represents the Defender for Cloud Apps assessment of this particulareach app's maturity of use for enterprises.
The total score of any given app is a weighted average of subscores for the following risk categories, which Defender for Cloud Apps considers when assessing reliability:
Check the cloud app catalog to ensure that the apps used by the organization fit into your organization's security requirements. For example, you might want to periodically check that CRM apps used in your organization are adequately secure. To identify CRM apps in your organization that meet these security criteria, use the following steps:
Sign into
Microsoftthe DefenderXDRportal and select Cloud apps > Cloud app catalog.In the Browse by category list, select CRM. Use the search box to find a category if needed.
Customize the risk score
By default, all the various parameters evaluated are given equal weight. If there are certain parameters that are more or less important to your organization, it's important to change themthe parameter weights as needed.
For example:
To override the risk score for a specific app:
Sign into
Microsoftthe DefenderXDR.portal. In the Cloud discovery or Cloud app catalog page, locate the app you want to override.Select the three dot menu and then select Override app score.
Next steps
Continue with the following guidance to protect your organization:
[!div class="nextstepaction"] Best practices for protecting your organization
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@ --- title: Cloud app catalog and risk scores | Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps description: Learn about the Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps' cloud app catalog, and how to use and customize your cloud app risk score.-ms.date: 06/16/2026+ms.date: 07/03/2026 ms.topic: how-to ms.reviewer: Mravela-ms.custom: sfi-image-nochange, msecd-doc-authoring-1014+ms.custom: sfi-image-nochange, msecd-doc-authoring-1016 #CustomerIntent: As a Defender for Cloud Apps user, I want to understand how to use the Cloud app catalog and my cloud app risk scores. ai-usage: ai-assisted ---@@ -18,14 +18,14 @@ For example: :::image type="content" source="media/cloud-app-catalog.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing the cloud app catalog" lightbox="media/cloud-app-catalog.png"::: -Apps in the cloud app catalog are scored based on more than 90 risk factors. This article describes how to identify apps covered by the catalog, and how to use and customize the cloud app risk scores.+Apps in the cloud app catalog are scored based on more than 90 risk factors. The following sections describe how to identify apps covered by the catalog, and how to use and customize the cloud app risk scores. >[!TIP] > By default, Defender for Cloud Apps can't discover apps that aren't in the catalog. To see Defender for Cloud Apps data for an app that's not currently in the catalog, we recommend that you [check the Microsoft 365 roadmap for Defender for Identity](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=Microsoft%20Defender%20for%20Identity), [suggest a change to the cloud app catalog](#suggest-a-change-to-the-cloud-app-catalog), or [create a custom cloud app](cloud-discovery-custom-apps.md). ## Risk scoring process -Defender for Cloud Apps rates risks based on regulatory certification, industry standards, and best practices. The score represents the Defender for Cloud Apps assessment of this particular app's maturity of use for enterprises.+Defender for Cloud Apps rates risks based on regulatory certification, industry standards, and best practices. The score represents the Defender for Cloud Apps assessment of each app's maturity of use for enterprises. The total score of any given app is a weighted average of subscores for the following risk categories, which Defender for Cloud Apps considers when assessing reliability: @@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ Risk scores are kept up to date using the following sources: Check the cloud app catalog to ensure that the apps used by the organization fit into your organization's security requirements. For example, you might want to periodically check that CRM apps used in your organization are adequately secure. To identify CRM apps in your organization that meet these security criteria, use the following steps: -1. Sign into Microsoft Defender XDR and select **Cloud apps** > **Cloud app catalog**.+1. Sign into the Defender portal and select **Cloud apps** > **Cloud app catalog**. 1. In the **Browse by category** list, select **CRM**. Use the search box to find a category if needed. @@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ Check the cloud app catalog to ensure that the apps used by the organization fit ## Customize the risk score -By default, all the various parameters evaluated are given equal weight. If there are certain parameters that are more or less important to your organization, it's important to change them as needed.+By default, all the various parameters evaluated are given equal weight. If there are certain parameters that are more or less important to your organization, it's important to change the parameter weights as needed. For example: @@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ You might want to override the risk score for a specific app without changing th **To override the risk score for a specific app**: -1. Sign into Microsoft Defender XDR. In the **Cloud discovery** or **Cloud app catalog** page, locate the app you want to override.+1. Sign into the Defender portal. In the **Cloud discovery** or **Cloud app catalog** page, locate the app you want to override. 1. Select the three dot menu and then select **Override app score**. @@ -214,6 +214,8 @@ The following table lists the cloud app catalog's supported categories: ## Next steps +Continue with the following guidance to protect your organization:+ > [!div class="nextstepaction"] > [Best practices for protecting your organization](best-practices.md)