Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps will retire select IaaS and PaaS threat detections by mid-May 2026 due to low impact, focusing on identity-related threats. Affected alerts and policies will be removed, but historical data remains accessible. No admin action is required, though updating related processes is recommended.
Day in brief
Password protection in Microsoft Defender leads 50 Defender updates
17 March 2026 recorded 5 new, 42 updated, 2 removed Microsoft Defender documentation changes and 1 relevant Message Center announcement. The most active areas were Endpoint, Defender XDR, Identity.
- Password protection in Microsoft Defender
Defender XDR · Identity protectionAdded Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-xdr/identity-security/password-protection.md.
- Upcoming retirement of select threat detections in Microsoft Defender for Cloud AppsDefender XDR · Identity protection
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps will retire select IaaS and PaaS threat detections by mid-May 2026 due to low impact, focusing on identity-related threats. Affected alerts and policies will be removed, but historical data remains accessible. No admin action is required, though updating related processes is recommended.
- Microsoft Defender Identity Security dashboard
Identity · Identity protectionUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-for-identity/dashboard.md.
- Attack Surface Reduction Rules Reference
Endpoint · Vulnerabilities and exposureUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/attack-surface-reduction-rules-reference.md.
- App Governance Visibility Insights View Apps
Cloud Apps · Cloud and workloadsUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-for-cloud-apps/app-governance-visibility-insights-view-apps.md.
This period briefing was assembled from the tracked Microsoft Learn and Message Center changes.
50 updates
Microsoft Defender XDR
15 updatesAdded Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-xdr/identity-security/password-protection.md.
Added Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-xdr/identity-security/coverage-maturity.md.
Added Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-xdr/identity-security/identity-security-recommendations.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-xdr/identity-security/identity-security-dashboard.md.
Coverage Maturity
UpdatedUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-xdr/identity-security/coverage-maturity.md.
Password Protection
UpdatedUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-xdr/identity-security/password-protection.md.
Coverage Maturity
UpdatedUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-xdr/identity-security/coverage-maturity.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-xdr/identity-security/identity-security-recommendations.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-xdr/identity-security/identity-security-recommendations.md.
Password Protection
UpdatedUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-xdr/identity-security/password-protection.md.
Identity Security Dashboard
RemovedRemoved Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-xdr/identity-security/identity-security-dashboard.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-xdr/investigate-non-human-identities.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-xdr/investigate-non-human-identities.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-xdr/investigate-non-human-identities.md.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
22 updates
Configure Device Discovery
UpdatedUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/configure-device-discovery.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/defender-endpoint-subscription-settings.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/microsoft-defender-endpoint-releases.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/standard-device-connectivity-urls-commercial.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/standard-device-connectivity-urls-gov.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/streamlined-device-connectivity-urls-commercial.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/whats-new-in-microsoft-defender-endpoint.md.
Linux Preferences
UpdatedUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/linux-preferences.md.
Linux Preferences
UpdatedUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/linux-preferences.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/standard-device-connectivity-urls-commercial.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/standard-device-connectivity-urls-commercial.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/standard-device-connectivity-urls-gov.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/streamlined-device-connectivity-urls-commercial.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/streamlined-device-connectivity-urls-commercial.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/streamlined-device-connectivity-urls-gov.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/whats-new-in-microsoft-defender-endpoint.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/whats-new-in-microsoft-defender-endpoint.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/whats-new-in-microsoft-defender-endpoint.md.
Removed Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/DEVICE-CONTENT-CURATION-SUMMARY.md.
Device Discovery
UpdatedUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/device-discovery.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/attack-surface-reduction-rules-reference.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-endpoint/device-inventory-field-reference.md.
Microsoft Defender for Identity
11 updatesUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-for-identity/dashboard.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-for-identity/microsoft-365-security-center-mdi.md.
Added Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-for-identity/investigate-domain.md.
Added Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-for-identity/custom-account-correlation-rules.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-for-identity/investigate-domain.md.
Identity Inventory
UpdatedUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-for-identity/identity-inventory.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-for-identity/manage-related-identities-accounts.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-for-identity/custom-account-correlation-rules.md.
Dashboard
UpdatedUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-for-identity/dashboard.md.
Health Alerts
UpdatedUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-for-identity/health-alerts.md.
Identity Inventory
UpdatedUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-for-identity/identity-inventory.md.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
2 updatesUpdated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-for-cloud-apps/app-governance-visibility-insights-view-apps.md.
Updated Microsoft Defender documentation in defender-for-cloud-apps/app-governance-visibility-insights-view-apps.md.