The slides from this month’s webinar are available at:
and the video recording is also up on YouTube here:
Video URL – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE5kHt3Jz9M
Watch out for next month’s webinar.
Tag: News
CIA Brief 20260822
Announcements – Licensing & Exchange
- Understanding the new 100 GB mailbox entitlement for Microsoft 365 Business suites — Eligible Business Basic/Standard/Premium mailboxes are doubling from 50 GB to 100 GB via a new auto-provisioned service plan; rollout is gradual through September 2026. https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/Exchange/understanding-the-new-100-gb-mailbox-entitlement-for-microsoft-365-business-suit/4548243
Industry News – Security & Threat Intelligence
- Hunting MacSync Stealer infrastructure through behavioral pivots — Microsoft Defender Experts linked 30+ rotating domains behind a macOS info-stealer by tracking durable behaviours rather than domains. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/08/18/hunting-macsync-stealer-infrastructure-through-behavioral-pivots/
AI & Copilot
- From AI assistant to capable teammate: How Copilot Cowork is changing the way we work at Microsoft — Inside Track piece on Cowork evolving into an autonomous, task-completing teammate in Microsoft 365. https://www.microsoft.com/insidetrack/blog/from-ai-assistant-to-capable-teammate-how-copilot-cowork-is-changing-the-way-we-work-at-microsoft/
After hours
Robots in China gear up for 2nd annual World Humanoid Games – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9z-kLwst90
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 20260815
Microsoft 365 & Copilot Productivity
- What’s New in Copilot in SharePoint: August 2026
Copilot in SharePoint can now turn a list, Excel file, or CSV into a live, interactive HTML dashboard that stays connected to the underlying data and refreshes each time it’s opened. The update also adds one-click “page buttons” that launch a saved Copilot prompt, plus chat improvements — shifting Copilot from simply answering questions to helping you build and act on content.
- What’s New in Excel (July 2026)
The monthly Excel roundup is almost entirely about Copilot: new inline citations to verify AI responses, generally available synced connectors, and Power BI grounding that respects row-level security. Two frontier models — OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 and Anthropic’s Claude Opus 5 — are now selectable, and Copilot no longer requires AutoSave to be turned on.
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/excelblog/whats-new-in-excel-july-2026/4523403
- Link to a location in Word for Windows and Mac
A new “Copy Link to Location” feature lets you highlight any text, right-click, and generate a shareable link that opens the document exactly at that spot — no heading, bookmark, or hyperlink required. It’s aimed at long documents and collaborative reviews, saving colleagues from scrolling to find the right section. Available in Word for Windows and Mac (links also open in the web).
Security & Threat Intelligence
- DeadLock ransomware: Breaking down a Rust-based encryptor with decentralized recovery infrastructure
Microsoft Threat Intelligence details DeadLock, an emerging financially motivated ransomware operation that uses double extortion and decentralized infrastructure — combining the Session messaging network with blockchain-backed services — to make its leak and negotiation systems harder to disrupt. The analysis covers its Rust encryptor, resource-aware throttling, and geofencing, along with Microsoft Defender mitigations.
AI & Agents
- Building autonomous multi-agent workflows (AI Team)
A video walkthrough shared in the AI Team on designing autonomous, multi-agent workflows — showing how agents can be chained to hand off and coordinate multi-step tasks rather than running as isolated, one-off bots. A useful primer for anyone moving toward production-grade agent automation in Copilot Studio.
After hours
The Obama Tan Suit | Season Finale of Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crNcV0k0aMQ
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 369
In this episode of the Need to Know Podcast, I cover recent Microsoft news, including strong financial results, continued Azure growth, rising Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption, and major security updates. Key security stories include supply chain compromise, cybercrime disruption, hotel Wi-Fi credential theft, and Project Perception, which points toward a future where security is increasingly managed by AI agents rather than manual review. The episode also highlights new Microsoft 365 Copilot capabilities, web grounding domain controls, Copilot in SharePoint improvements, plus two new CIAOPS simulators for Exchange/Defender policy flow and Microsoft 365 sign-in/Conditional Access testing.
The broader discussion focuses on how AI is changing software, security, and business productivity. I argue that cheaper open-weight AI models, Microsoft’s MAI models, and tools like GitHub Copilot make it easier for businesses to build their own dashboards, simulators, and lightweight applications instead of relying only on traditional software. He also introduces the idea of a “SharePoint gardener” to keep SharePoint information organised for AI use, and explains how AI loops can continuously test, improve, and refine code or business processes with human oversight where needed.
Brought to you by www.ciaopspatron.com
you can listen directly to this episode at:
https://ciaops.podbean.com/e/episode-369-developing/
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
CIAOPS Need to Know podcast – CIAOPS – Need to Know podcasts | CIAOPS
X – https://www.twitter.com/directorcia
director@ciaops.com
Join my Teams Shared Channel – CIAOPS
CIAOPS Merch store – CIAOPS
Become a CIAOPS Patron
CIAOPS weekly news update – CIA Brief – CIAOPS
CIAOPS Labs – The Special Activities Division of the CIAOPS
Get your M365 questions answered via email
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
Security & Threat Intelligence
- ChainDrop supply chain compromise: Anatomy of a self-propagating worm
- Five takedowns, one infrastructure: How Microsoft is tackling the cybercrime economy
- CaptiveCrunch: Midnight Blizzard targets travellers worldwide for malware delivery and credential theft
- Introducing Project Perception: The Next Evolution of Agentic Security
Microsoft 365 Copilot & AI
- What’s New in Microsoft 365 Copilot | July 2026
- More control over web grounding with Domain Exclusion for Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Looking back on Microsoft’s FY26: From AI experimentation to Frontier Transformation
SharePoint & Content Management
Microsoft Corporate News & Strategy
CIAOPS:
Exchange Online + Defender for Office 365 Policy Flow Simulator
CIA Brief 20260809
Announcements & Product Updates
- What’s New in Copilot in SharePoint: August 2026 Copilot in SharePoint’s August update can now turn SharePoint lists, Excel and CSV files into live, interactive dashboards that stay connected to the underlying data. It also adds one-click “page buttons” that launch contextual prompts, plus chat improvements for adding context. The theme is moving Copilot from simply answering questions to helping you create, analyse and act on your content.https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/spblog/whats-new-in-copilot-in-sharepoint-august-2026/4535421
- Copilot Just Changed Again — August 2026 (Updates From A Microsoft Engineer) AI – A Microsoft engineer walks through every August 2026 Microsoft 365 Copilot update across Chat, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, SharePoint and Notebooks. Highlights include new models, Word track-changes rewrites and Cowork event scheduling. A fast, practical rundown of what to switch on first this month.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwl_vyftmn8
Copilot Studio & Agents
- Building Highly Effective Business-Process Agents — Copilot Studio Updates, August 2026 – A walkthrough of how to design robust, business-process agents in Copilot Studio. It focuses on structuring agents for reliable, repeatable multi-step automation rather than one-off tasks. Useful for anyone looking to move from simple chatbots to production-grade workflow agents.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KoTjt6wIMc
- Inside the New Agent and Workflow Harness — Copilot Studio Updates, August 2026 AI – A closer look inside Copilot Studio’s new agent and workflow harness. It shows how the updated tooling lets you build, invoke and test agents as steps within larger workflows. A good companion to the business-process agents session above.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7IA56HJU2E
Guides & Resources
- Copilot Credits Guide (August 2026) AI – Microsoft-Copilot-Credits-Guide-August-2026.pdf — explaining how Microsoft Copilot credits and metered billing work. Handy background as pricing shifts from flat-rate to consumption-based models. Note: shared as a file attachment in the channel (no external URL).File posted in AI – News channel (PDF attachment)
After hours
The AI takeover: Who controls our future? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkPVjTl7o-Q
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 – August
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 Beyond Copilot Chat
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:
(If you are having issues with the above link copy and paste – https://bit.ly/n2k2608)
The details are:
CIAOPS Need to Know Webinar – July 2026
Friday 31st of July 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 20260802
Microsoft 365 Copilot & AI Transformation
- The Next Measure of AI Momentum is Work Transformed
Microsoft argues that AI success should be measured by business outcomes and work transformation rather than raw adoption numbers. The article highlights how organisations are moving beyond experimentation and beginning to redesign business processes around AI capabilities.
Link: View Article - Looking Back on Microsoft’s FY26: From AI Experimentation to Frontier Transformation
Microsoft reflects on FY26 and positions the year as a turning point from AI pilots and experimentation toward larger-scale organisational transformation. The article highlights customer adoption patterns and the evolving role of AI across Microsoft platforms.
Link: View Article - What’s New in Microsoft 365 Copilot – June 2026
A roundup of the latest Microsoft 365 Copilot enhancements, including new features, platform improvements, and expanded experiences across Microsoft applications. The update provides insight into Microsoft’s ongoing Copilot roadmap and investment areas.
Link: View Article - More Control Over Web Grounding with Domain Exclusion for Microsoft 365 Copilot
Microsoft announced Domain Exclusion capabilities that allow administrators to limit which public web domains can be used during Copilot web-grounded responses. The feature aims to provide greater governance and control over AI-generated content.
Link: View Article
Security & Compliance
- CaptiveCrunch: Midnight Blizzard Targets Travellers Worldwide
Microsoft detailed a new campaign by the Midnight Blizzard threat actor that targets travellers with malware delivery and credential theft techniques. The report outlines the threat activity and provides guidance to help organisations reduce exposure.
Link: View Article - Rethinking Security for the Age of AI
Microsoft outlines how security strategies must evolve as AI becomes embedded within business operations. The article discusses emerging risks, governance considerations, and the increasing importance of securing AI systems and data.
Link: View Article - Introducing Project Perception: The Next Evolution of Agentic Security
Microsoft introduced Project Perception, focusing on the development of more autonomous and intelligent security capabilities. The announcement explores how agents and AI-based systems may assist security operations in identifying and responding to threats.
Link: Watch Video
Financial Results & Industry Signals
- Microsoft Earnings Release FY26 Q4
Microsoft reported FY26 Q4 revenue of $90 billion, operating income of $40.6 billion, and net income of $35.8 billion. The results highlighted continued strength across the Microsoft cloud and AI portfolio, with Copilot growth receiving significant attention.
Link: View Earnings Release
After hours
Gemini Robotics 2 brings whole body intelligence to robots
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lSQnrMC6nY
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
July Microsoft 365 Webinar resources
The slides from this month’s webinar are available at:
and the video recording is also up on YouTube here:
Video URL – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX5F3LDoPY4
Watch out for next month’s webinar.
CIAOPS 