CIA Brief 20260418

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Security & Threat Intelligence
Microsoft Defender & Security Copilot
Identity (Microsoft Entra)
Data Security & Governance (Microsoft Purview)
Microsoft Sentinel
Microsoft 365 Copilot
Microsoft Teams & Meetings
Developer Tools (GitHub)

After hours

Smarter Inspections Powered by Google Gemini Robotics | Boston Dynamics  – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBwxmlI2yHQ

Editorial

If you found this valuable, the I’d appreciate a ‘like’ or perhaps a donation at https://ko-fi.com/ciaops. This helps me know that people enjoy what I have created and provides resources to allow me to create more content. If you have any feedback or suggestions around this, I’m all ears. You can also find me via email director@ciaops.com and on X (Twitter) at https://www.twitter.com/directorcia.

If you want to be part of a dedicated Microsoft Cloud community with information and interactions daily, then consider becoming a CIAOPS Patron – www.ciaopspatron.com.

Watch out for the next CIA Brief next week

CIA Brief 20260411

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Anthropic’s powerful new AI model raises concerns about high-tech risks –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMaCfQMlXY0

Defender XDR – Monthly news – April 2026 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftthreatprotectionblog/monthly-news—april-2026/45…

Investigating Storm-2755: “Payroll pirate” attacks targeting Canadian employees –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/04/09/investigating-storm-2755-payroll-pirate-at…

SOHO router compromise leads to DNS hijacking and adversary-in-the-middle attacks –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/04/07/soho-router-compromise-leads-to-dns-hijack…

Inside an AI‑enabled device code phishing campaign –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/04/06/ai-enabled-device-code-phishing-campaign-a…

Security Copilot Skilling Series –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft-security-blog/security-copilot-skilling-series/4…

A modernized comments experience for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on iPhone –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/a-modernized-comments-experience-f…

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Customer Newsletter –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftdefendercloudblog/microsoft-defender-for-cloud-cu…

A third-party connector integrating Claude with Microsoft Sentinel is now available –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftsentinelblog/a-third-party-connector-integrating-…

Threat actor abuse of AI accelerates from tool to cyberattack surface –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/04/02/threat-actor-abuse-of-ai-accelerates-from-…

The best backup is the one you never think about –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/the-best-backup-is-the-one-you-nev…

What’s new in Microsoft Intune – March –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftintuneblog/what%E2%80%99s-new-in-microsoft-intune…

What’s New in Microsoft 365 Copilot | March 2026 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/what%E2%80%99s-new-in-microsoft-36…

What’s new in Power Platform: March 2026 feature update –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/blog/power-apps/whats-new-in-power-platform-march-20…

High Volume Email reaches General Availability in Exchange Online –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/exchange/high-volume-email-reaches-general-availability-in…

Microsoft 365 Copilot: Researcher with multi-model intelligence –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4ZqK7_15uw

Copilot Cowork: Sales and Finance Workflows –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7nv7OCfsCY

File-level archiving comes to Microsoft 365 Archive (public preview) –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft_365blog/file-level-archiving-comes-to-microsoft-…

Introducing multi-model intelligence in Researcher –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/introducing-multi-model-intelligen…

Copilot Cowork: Now available in Frontier –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2026/03/30/copilot-cowork-now-available-in-front…

Microsoft SharePoint Turns 25! –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/microsoft-sharepoint-turns-25/4505…

Protect your enterprise from shadow AI and more: Announcements at RSAC 2026 –

https://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2026/03/23/protect-your-enterprise-from-shadow-ai-and-more-anno…

Guidance for detecting, investigating, and defending against the Trivy supply chain compromise –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/03/24/detecting-investigating-defending-against-…

What’s new in SharePoint lists –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVrNK7MPzLk

Accessibility Assistant now flags inaccessible hyperlinks –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/accessibility-assistant-now-flags-…

After hours

Bessent summoned Wall Street leader to discuss Anthropic’s new AI  – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl9LKFMj3Eg

Editorial

If you found this valuable, the I’d appreciate a ‘like’ or perhaps a donation at https://ko-fi.com/ciaops. This helps me know that people enjoy what I have created and provides resources to allow me to create more content. If you have any feedback or suggestions around this, I’m all ears. You can also find me via email director@ciaops.com and on X (Twitter) at https://www.twitter.com/directorcia.

If you want to be part of a dedicated Microsoft Cloud community with information and interactions daily, then consider becoming a CIAOPS Patron – www.ciaopspatron.com.

Watch out for the next CIA Brief next week

Need to Know podcast–Episode 362

In this episode of the CIAOPS Need to Know podcast, we take an AI‑first look at what’s happening across the Microsoft Cloud and what it really means for small and medium businesses. Episode 362 cuts through the noise to focus on the practical, real‑world impact of artificial intelligence as Microsoft continues to embed AI across Microsoft 365, Azure, and everyday productivity tools.

We discuss how an AI‑first mindset is changing the way SMBs should think about security, productivity, and operational efficiency, along with what partners and IT professionals need to pay attention to right now. Expect clear explanations, informed opinions, and actionable insights designed to help you make sense of rapid change without the hype.

Brought to you by www.ciaopspatron.com

you can listen directly to this episode at:

https://ciaops.podbean.com/e/episode-362-ai-first/

Subscribe via iTunes at:

https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/ciaops-need-to-know-podcasts/id406891445?mt=2

or Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/7ejj00cOuw8977GnnE2lPb

Don’t forget to give the show a rating as well as send me any feedback or suggestions you may have for the show.

Resources

Explore the tools, communities, and content mentioned in this episode:

CIAOPS Need to Know podcast – CIAOPS – Need to Know podcasts | CIAOPS

X – https://www.twitter.com/directorcia

director@ciaops.com

CIAOPS Blog – CIAOPS – Information about SharePoint, Microsoft 365, Azure, Mobility and Productivity from the Computer Information Agency

Join my Teams shared channel – Join my Teams Shared Channel – CIAOPS

CIAOPS Merch store – CIAOPS

Become a CIAOPS Patron – CIAOPS Patron

CIAOPS Brief – CIA Brief – CIAOPS

CIAOPS Labs – CIAOPS Labs – The Special Activities Division of the CIAOPS

Support CIAOPS – Support CIAOPS

Get your M365 questions answered via email

Please fill out this form

A special thanks to the CIAOPS Patron community for making this podcast possible. You can find the benefits of a subscription to the community and become a member at https://www.ciaopspatron.com

Microsoft 365 Copilot & AI in the Workplace

Product updates and new Copilot experiences

  • What’s new in Microsoft 365 Copilot – March 2026

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/what%E2%80%99s-new-in-microsoft-365-copilot–march-2026/4506322

  • Copilot Cowork now available in Frontier

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2026/03/30/copilot-cowork-now-available-in-frontier/

https://playground.microsoft.ai/chat

AI Security, Threats & Protection

How Microsoft is addressing AI as both a tool and an attack surface

  • Defending the AI era: New Microsoft capabilities to protect AI

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/MicrosoftDefenderCloudBlog/defending-the-ai-era-new-microsoft-capabilities-to-protect-ai/4503885

  • Threat actor abuse of AI accelerates from tool to cyberattack surface

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/04/02/threat-actor-abuse-of-ai-accelerates-from-tool-to-cyberattack-surface/

Endpoint & Device Management (Intune)

Modern management platform updates

  • What’s new in Microsoft Intune – March 2026

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftintuneblog/what%E2%80%99s-new-in-microsoft-intune-%E2%80%93-march/4493136

Power Platform

Low‑code and automation platform updates

  • What’s new in Power Platform – March 2026 feature update

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/blog/power-apps/whats-new-in-power-platform-march-2026-feature-update/

Microsoft 365 Data, Storage & Compliance

Archiving and information lifecycle management

  • File‑level archiving comes to Microsoft 365 Archive (Public Preview)

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft_365blog/file-level-archiving-comes-to-microsoft-365-archive-public-preview/4506886

Microsoft 365 Platform Milestones

Product anniversaries and platform evolution

  • Microsoft SharePoint turns 25

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/microsoft-sharepoint-turns-25/4505368

  • Celebrating 30 years of Microsoft Exchange

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/exchange/celebrating-30-years-of-microsoft-exchange/4503439

CIA Brief 20260322

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Defending the AI Era: New Microsoft Capabilities to Protect AI –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/MicrosoftDefenderCloudBlog/defending-the-ai-era-new-micros…

From Impersonation Calls to Transparent Reporting: Defending the New Front Door of Attacks –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/MicrosoftDefenderforOffice365Blog/from-impersonation-calls…

Secure data as AI scales: New Microsoft Purview innovations at RSA 2026 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft-security-blog/secure-data-as-ai-scales-new-micro…

Secure agentic AI end-to-end –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/03/20/secure-agentic-ai-end-to-end/

Secure access in the age of AI: Key findings from our 2026 Report –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft-entra-blog/secure-access-in-the-age-of-ai-key-fi…

When tax season becomes cyberattack season: Phishing and malware campaigns using tax-related lures –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/03/19/when-tax-season-becomes-cyberattack-season…

Copilot can reschedule conflicting events in Outlook –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/copilot-can-reschedule-conflicting…

Observability for AI Systems: Strengthening visibility for proactive risk detection –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/03/18/observability-ai-systems-strengthening-vis…

What’s New in Microsoft Sentinel and XDR: AI Automation, Data Lake Innovation, and Unified SecOps –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/discussions/microsoftthreatprotection/what%E2%80%99s-new-in-mic…

Structured document generation with forms now in preview –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/SPBlog/structured-document-generation-with-forms-now-in-pr…

Act Now: Lock in Current Pricing on Microsoft 365 Copilot Business Bundles –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/act-now-lock-in-current-pricing-on…

AI‑Powered Troubleshooting for Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management now available –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/exchange/ai%E2%80%91powered-troubleshooting-for-microsoft-…

Publish to web delivers polished files externally with one click –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/Microsoft365InsiderBlog/publish-to-web-delivers-polished-f…

After hours

Why All “AI Layoffs” Are Actually a Big Lie  – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JdV2qGCAFk

Editorial

If you found this valuable, the I’d appreciate a ‘like’ or perhaps a donation at https://ko-fi.com/ciaops. This helps me know that people enjoy what I have created and provides resources to allow me to create more content. If you have any feedback or suggestions around this, I’m all ears. You can also find me via email director@ciaops.com and on X (Twitter) at https://www.twitter.com/directorcia.

If you want to be part of a dedicated Microsoft Cloud community with information and interactions daily, then consider becoming a CIAOPS Patron – www.ciaopspatron.com.

Watch out for the next CIA Brief next week

CIA Brief 20260315

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A faster way to find your Word, Excel and PowerPoint files online –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/a-faster-way-to-find-your-word-exc…

A closer look at Work IQ –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/a-closer-look-at-work-iq/4499789

Detecting and analyzing prompt abuse in AI tools –

Detecting and analyzing prompt abuse in AI tools | Microsoft Security Blog

Copilot in Outlook: New agentic experiences for email and calendar –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/Outlook/copilot-in-outlook-new-agentic-experiences-for-ema…

Storm-2561 uses SEO poisoning to distribute fake VPN clients for credential theft –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/03/12/storm-2561-uses-seo-poisoning-to-distribut…

When Trust Becomes the Attack Vector: Analysis of the EmEditor Supply-Chain Compromise –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftsecurityexperts/when-trust-becomes-the-attack-vec…

Organize your week with Copilot Cowork –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL95ZlP8cgY

Microsoft Agent 365 – The control plane for AI agents –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viPY8ZFsYos

Meet Copilot Cowork: A New Way of Getting Work Done –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8rHJsM3fxQ

Introducing effective settings: See security configurations enforced on your device –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftdefenderatpblog/introducing-effective-settings-se…

Pin Microsoft 365 Copilot apps to the taskbar –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xks9A-yilE

Secure agentic AI for your Frontier Transformation –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/03/09/secure-agentic-ai-for-your-frontier-transf…

Copilot Cowork: A new way of getting work done –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2026/03/09/copilot-cowork-a-new-way-of-getting-w…

Available today: GPT-5.4 Thinking in Microsoft 365 Copilot –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/available-today-gpt-5-4-thinking-i…

Powering Frontier Transformation with Copilot and agents –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2026/03/09/powering-frontier-transformation-with…

Introducing the First Frontier Suite built on Intelligence + Trust –

https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/03/09/introducing-the-first-frontier-suite-built-on-intellige…

Microsoft Agent 365 –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viPY8ZFsYos

After hours

The AI book that’s freaking out national security advisors  – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl7-bRFSZBs

Editorial

If you found this valuable, the I’d appreciate a ‘like’ or perhaps a donation at https://ko-fi.com/ciaops. This helps me know that people enjoy what I have created and provides resources to allow me to create more content. If you have any feedback or suggestions around this, I’m all ears. You can also find me via email director@ciaops.com and on X (Twitter) at https://www.twitter.com/directorcia.

If you want to be part of a dedicated Microsoft Cloud community with information and interactions daily, then consider becoming a CIAOPS Patron – www.ciaopspatron.com.

Watch out for the next CIA Brief next week

CIA Brief 20260308

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Introducing the new Microsoft Teams events experience –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jG4cPfjYuQ

RedVDS and the Invisible Infrastructure of Modern Cybercrime –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/corporate-responsibility/topics/cybersecurity/stories/redvds/

Powerful image editing, now in PowerPoint –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/powerful-image-editing-now-in-powe…

AI as tradecraft: How threat actors operationalize AI –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/03/06/ai-as-tradecraft-how-threat-actors-operati…

More choice, more flexibility: xAI Grok 4.1 Fast now available in Microsoft Copilot Studio –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot/blog/copilot-studio/more-choice-more-flexibility-…

Windows news you can use: February 2026 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windows-itpro-blog/windows-news-you-can-use-february-2026/…

Malicious AI Assistant Extensions Harvest LLM Chat Histories –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/03/05/malicious-ai-assistant-extensions-harvest-…

Simplify cross-tenant user migrations with Microsoft 365 orchestrator –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/simplify-cross-tenant-user-migrati…

Defending the gates: How a global coalition disrupted Tycoon 2FA, a major driver of initial access and large-scale online impersonation –

https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2026/03/04/how-a-global-coalition-disrupted-tycoon/

Inside Tycoon2FA: How a leading AiTM phishing kit operated at scale –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/03/04/inside-tycoon2fa-how-a-leading-aitm-phishi…

Copilot can reschedule conflicting events in Outlook –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/copilot-can-reschedule-conflicting…

A new Microsoft 365 “E7” tier could cost up to $99 a month for premium AI — but only 3.3% of existing users pay for Copilot –

https://www.windowscentral.com/artificial-intelligence/the-next-microsoft-365-e7-tier-could-cost-up…

Protect browser-based work on agency-managed Windows PCs –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftintuneblog/protect-browser-based-work-on-agency-m…

OAuth redirection abuse enables phishing and malware delivery –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/03/02/oauth-redirection-abuse-enables-phishing-m…

SharePoint at 25: How Microsoft is putting knowledge to work in the AI era –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2026/03/02/sharepoint-at-25-how-microsoft-is-put…

Introducing new agentic building in SharePoint and more updates –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/spblog/introducing-new-agentic-building-in-sharepoint-and-…

After hours

Silicon Valley Season 6 Gilfoyle’s AI Chat Bot War  – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWIusSdn1e4

Editorial

If you found this valuable, the I’d appreciate a ‘like’ or perhaps a donation at https://ko-fi.com/ciaops. This helps me know that people enjoy what I have created and provides resources to allow me to create more content. If you have any feedback or suggestions around this, I’m all ears. You can also find me via email director@ciaops.com and on X (Twitter) at https://www.twitter.com/directorcia.

If you want to be part of a dedicated Microsoft Cloud community with information and interactions daily, then consider becoming a CIAOPS Patron – www.ciaopspatron.com.

Watch out for the next CIA Brief next week

CIAOPS Need to Know Microsoft 365 Webinar – March

laptop-eyes-technology-computer_thumb

Now in our tenth year!

Join me for the free monthly CIAOPS Need to Know webinar. Along with all the Microsoft Cloud news we’ll be taking a look at Copilot Agents.

Shortly after registering you should receive an automated email from Microsoft Teams confirming your registration, including all the event details as well as a calendar invite.

You can register for the regular monthly webinar here:

March Registrations

(If you are having issues with the above link copy and paste – https://bit.ly/n2k2603 )

The details are:

CIAOPS Need to Know Webinar – March 2026
Tuesday 31st of March 2026
11.00am – 12.00am Sydney Time

All sessions are recorded and posted to the CIAOPS Youtube channel.

Also feel free at any stage to email me directly via director@ciaops.com with your webinar topic suggestions.

I’d also appreciate you sharing information about this webinar with anyone you feel may benefit from the session and I look forward to seeing you there.

CIA Brief 20260301

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Zero Trust Workshop – Remediations –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IqON_3_ZEU

Threat modeling AI applications –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/02/26/threat-modeling-ai-applications/

What’s New in Microsoft 365 Copilot | February 2026 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/what%E2%80%99s-new-in-microsoft-36…

Query your local Excel files with Copilot Chat –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/Microsoft365InsiderBlog/query-your-local-excel-files-with-…

Celebrating 250 million: Empowering communities to enable the global AI economy –

https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2026/02/24/empowering-communities-to-enable-the-global-ai…

Scaling security operations with Microsoft Defender autonomous defense and expert-led services –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/02/24/scaling-security-operations-with-microsoft…

Microsoft Sovereign Cloud adds governance, productivity and support for large AI models securely running even when completely disconnected  –

https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/02/24/microsoft-sovereign-cloud-adds-governance-productivity-…

Agent 365 Blog –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/agent-365-blog/hello-world-/4494728

Notes From the Field: Finding and Remediating EWS App Usage Before Retirement –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/exchange/notes-from-the-field-finding-and-remediating-ews-…

After hours

Japan in 8K -Tokyo – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq3VGnWzYg

Editorial

If you found this valuable, the I’d appreciate a ‘like’ or perhaps a donation at https://ko-fi.com/ciaops. This helps me know that people enjoy what I have created and provides resources to allow me to create more content. If you have any feedback or suggestions around this, I’m all ears. You can also find me via email director@ciaops.com and on X (Twitter) at https://www.twitter.com/directorcia.

If you want to be part of a dedicated Microsoft Cloud community with information and interactions daily, then consider becoming a CIAOPS Patron – www.ciaopspatron.com.

Watch out for the next CIA Brief next week