Microsoft, the US software giant, is preparing to enlarge its Defender antivirus to Android and iOS, will showcase a preview during the RSA Conference that will be held on February 24 – 28. With this, Microsoft aims to provide security solutions to millions of active Apple and Google users, amid growing malware threats worldwide. Microsoft Defender was launched back in 2006 after various beta firmware and is now recognized as Windows Defender for Windows users.
According to a letter shared by the organization on Thursday, the Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) will not only oppose threats from third-party applications but will moreover share analytics with Azure Sentinel security teams, to “observe and handle threats across Microsoft for future”.
The company will also be extending the ATP for Linux, the note added.
Speaking more on the company’s vision, Rob Lefferts, Microsoft corporate vice president told CNBC, “They [iOS and Android operating systems] are pretty safe but pretty safe is not the same as safe. Malware does occur on those stages”, he stated figuring that the ATP feature will tackle phishing endeavors.
It is still unclear when and how the tech giant is planning to roll out the Defender app for mobile. The latest announcement by Microsoft is an attempt by the company to further tap into the smartphone industry, after providing antivirus security to PCs for decades. Beginning this week, the organization originated its all-in-one Office app for both Android and iOS that grants admittance to Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
In 2019, Microsoft also partnered with Samsung to contract some of its smartphones pre-installed with Microsoft Android applications. The Redmond organization in 2018 took Windows Defender Browser Protection to modern web browsers, Google Chrome and Firefox in the sort of an add-on.
