Huntress + Microsoft
Microsoft gives you a strong security control stack, and depending on your license, you may be paying for more protection than most teams are actually using. The problem isn't the controls. It's who's running them at 2am on a Saturday when something goes wrong. Huntress helps operate key Microsoft security controls you already own, and adds Huntress-native detection and response on top. Microsoft is the foundation. Huntress is how you get coverage and response you can actually run without building a dedicated operator team to do it.
- We help operate the Defender and identity controls you're already paying for. Huntress manages Defender AV config, exclusions, scans, and detections inside Managed EDR, and uses Defender for Business/Endpoint as added telemetry on top of Huntress's own agent. On the identity side, Huntress connects to Microsoft 365 and Entra to convert identity signals into SOC-reviewed incidents.
- We apply managed best-practice M365 baselines and snap risky changes back in minutes. Huntress Managed ISPM continuously hardens Microsoft 365 by auditing and enforcing Entra settings like MFA, Conditional Access, admin roles, and permissions so misconfigurations and risky drift get fixed before attackers can exploit them.
- We add detection and response outcomes Microsoft doesn't ship as a managed service. Ransomware canaries, persistent foothold detection, malicious process behavior monitoring, Managed ITDR for Microsoft 365 identity abuse, identity isolation, and EDR + ITDR correlation. These aren't things Microsoft delivers as a managed outcome. Huntress does.
- When an endpoint gets hit, we connect it to the identity risk too. If an infostealer lands on a laptop, Huntress correlates that endpoint event to the Microsoft 365 identities logged into that machine, surfaces the identity remediation inside the EDR incident, and our SOC handles the response: account disablement, session revocation, inbox rule removal, all in one flow. No manual pivoting between tools. No deciding which team owns it.
What Microsoft provides, and what Huntress adds
Huntress manages Defender AV config, exclusions, scans, and detections inside Managed EDR. The SOC watches it all 24/7 at no added cost.
Defender AV is top-tier in independent testing. Someone still has to configure it, tune exclusions, manage scans, and validate detections.
Huntress drops lightweight canaries across endpoints and opens SOC investigations the moment they move, catching active encryption before it spreads.
Microsoft includes ransomware protections. Canary-based detection of active encryption activity is not a managed outcome Microsoft delivers.
Huntress Managed EDR is built around persistent footholds and malicious process behavior, with its own agent and detection engineering running alongside Defender.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE) catches a wide range of threats. But tuning and noise around abused legitimate tools remain real operational challenges.
Managed ITDR connects to Microsoft 365 and Entra, detects credential theft, session hijacking, BEC, and rogue OAuth apps, and delivers human-validated incidents with SOC-backed response.
Microsoft hands you Entra and Microsoft 365 signal. Interpreting it, triaging it, and acting on it is on your team.
Huntress disables sign-in, revokes active sessions, and removes malicious inbox rules through identity isolation, as part of the incident response and not a separate task.
Microsoft has the controls to disable accounts and revoke sessions. Executing the response requires your team or custom automation.
Huntress correlates endpoint events like infostealer detections to the Microsoft 365 identities on that machine and surfaces identity remediation inside the same EDR incident. One flow, one SOC.
Endpoint and identity telemetry generally live in separate Microsoft products. Customers with Defender for Identity (ME5/Defender Suite) can see identity-based threats within the Defender portal but investigation and response is on your team.
Every Huntress product is backed by a 24/7 SOC. Analysts investigate, validate, and respond rather than just generate alerts.
Microsoft does not provide a managed SOC as part of any standard Business Premium, E3, or E5 license.
Huntress Managed ISPM continuously audits and enforces Microsoft 365 identity configurations, detects drift, and auto-remediates or escalates with the hardening framework maintained by Huntress, not your team.
Microsoft provides Entra ID configuration controls and security recommendations, but ongoing enforcement, drift detection, and remediation remain the customer's responsibility.
Why Huntress Is the Best Microsoft Alternative
Huntress adds ransomware canaries, persistent foothold detection, and malicious process behavior monitoring alongside the Microsoft controls you already own. These are Huntress-native detection paths built around how attackers actually behave after they're in, not Microsoft features Huntress is surfacing.
Human analysts, always on.
Every Huntress product is backed by a 24/7 SOC staffed by analysts who investigate alerts, validate incidents, and execute response actions. Microsoft surfaces the signal. Huntress decides what it means and what to do about it, including at 2am on a weekend.
Product correlation across endpoint and identity.
Huntress correlates endpoint and identity evidence in a single incident workflow and responds across both surfaces in one motion. No manual pivoting between Defender and Entra. No deciding which team owns it. Huntress handles it.
1. Owning the license isn't the same as running the security
Business Premium includes Defender for Business. E3 includes Defender for Endpoint P1. E5 includes Defender for Endpoint P2. Microsoft's Gartner leading endpoint protection is in each of these licenses, but we often find that while customers have these licenses, Defender's endpoint protection is underutilized. That's not a knock on Microsoft. It's a reflection of what the license actually delivers. Microsoft ships the controls. They don't ship the operator. Tuning Defender, validating alerts, managing exclusions, handling triage, running incident response, and staying current as threats evolve is a full-time function, and it doesn't come included. Huntress fills that gap for the controls it supports. Managed EDR manages Defender AV config and detections, uses Defender for Business/Endpoint as additional SOC telemetry, and runs Huntress's own agent and detection layer alongside it. The Microsoft engine stays. The operational burden doesn't land on your team.
2. Huntress adds detection and response outcomes Microsoft doesn't deliver as a managed service
"Aren't you just managing Microsoft for me?" is the question Huntress hears most in Microsoft shops. The honest answer is: partly yes, and also no. Huntress does operate Defender AV within Managed EDR, and will utilize to Defender for Business/Endpoint signals for customer's with higher level Microsoft licenses. But Managed EDR also runs Huntress's own agent with detection engineering that isn't built on Microsoft telemetry at all. Ransomware canaries detect active encryption activity the moment a file is touched and open SOC investigations immediately. Persistent foothold detection and malicious process behavior monitoring target the adversary behavior that tends to get missed or de-prioritized when alert queues get long. Those are Huntress-native detections running alongside Microsoft, not Microsoft capabilities Huntress is surfacing. The same principle applies on the identity side. Huntress ingests Microsoft 365 and Entra identity signals for Managed ITDR. Microsoft provides Entra and Microsoft 365 signal. Managed ITDR converts that signal into SOC-reviewed incidents, with response actions (account disablement, session revocation, inbox rule removal) handled by Huntress analysts. That's a managed outcome Microsoft doesn't offer.
3. The infostealer problem requires both endpoint and identity response in one motion
One of the clearest "why both" stories in a Microsoft environment is what happens when an infostealer lands on an endpoint. Microsoft shops have the telemetry to see it. What they don't have is a single workflow that connects the endpoint detection to the Microsoft 365 identities at risk on that machine and executes the identity-side response in the same motion. Huntress does. When Managed EDR detects an infostealer, Huntress correlates that event to the cloud identities logged into that machine and surfaces identity remediation inside the same incident report. The SOC handles disabling sign-in, revoking active sessions, and removing malicious inbox rules without waiting for someone to manually pivot between tools, figure out which accounts are exposed, and decide who owns the response. In a Microsoft-only environment, that chain of decisions and actions is the responsibility of your team. With Huntress, our SOC takes the responsibility.
4. The "Defender AV Is Weak" objection is based on old data, but it's still a common objection
A lot of buyers in Microsoft shops are paying for a third-party endpoint product on top of a Defender license they already own. Bitdefender, Sophos, SentinelOne, CrowdStrike. The second engine often exists because, at some point, the team decided Defender AV couldn't be trusted. That trust gap is worth taking seriously. Defender AV earned a bad reputation, and reputations outlast products. But the current evidence doesn't support continued distrust at the prevention layer. AV-TEST business endpoint results consistently place Defender at top-tier on protection. Defender passed AV-Comparatives' 2025 Anti-Tampering Test against sustained attacks designed to disable or bypass. The more useful question isn't whether Defender is good enough. It's whether the team running two endpoint engines is getting twice the protection or just twice the bill. Huntress works either way: as the operator layer that adds Huntress-native detection and response above whatever engine the buyer trusts, or as the managed service that runs Defender AV and adds Huntress-only detection on top after consolidating the duplicate spend.
5. Microsoft gives buyers the control stack. Huntress gives them the operator stack.
The clearest way to explain why Microsoft and Huntress belong together is this: Microsoft sells controls. Huntress delivers the operation of those controls, plus Huntress-native detection and response outcomes that don't come in any license tier. Conditional Access, MFA, Defender, Entra, Microsoft 365. Those are controls. Someone still has to tune them, monitor them, validate what they surface, respond when something breaks through, and stay on call when it happens at an inconvenient hour. That operator function is what Huntress provides, for the specific controls Huntress integrates with today. This is also why "we'll run it ourselves" is a real answer, but only if the team is actually willing to staff the SOC function that comes with it. Triage, investigation, identity response, off-hours coverage, and the ongoing work of staying current with attacker tradecraft don't happen because the license is active. They happen because someone is doing the work. Huntress is for buyers who want those outcomes without building that operator layer themselves.
The Huntress Managed Security Platform
Frequently Asked Questions
Microsoft gives you a strong set of security controls, but those controls still need someone to run them. Tuning, triage, investigation, and response don't happen automatically because the license is active. Huntress helps operate key Microsoft controls you already own (specifically Defender AV and Microsoft 365 and Entra identity signals) and adds Huntress-native detection and response outcomes on top: ransomware canaries, persistent foothold detection, identity threat detection and response, , identity isolation, and endpoint-to-identity correlation. The license is the foundation. Huntress is the operator layer on top of it.
Partly, and also no. Huntress does operate Defender AV within our Managed EDR (config, exclusions, scans, detections, and SOC monitoring), and ingests Defender for Business/Endpoint signal. But Managed EDR also runs Huntress's own agent with detection engineering focused on persistent footholds, malicious process behavior, and ransomware canaries. Those are Huntress-native detections that run alongside Microsoft. And on the identity side, Managed ITDR converts Microsoft 365 and Entra signals into SOC-reviewed incidents with human-led response actions Microsoft doesn't deliver as a managed service.
That's a reasonable choice if the team is actually prepared to staff the function that comes with it. The license isn't the cost. The cost is tuning, triage, investigation, identity response, and off-hours coverage. Huntress is built for teams who want Huntress-native detection and a managed operator layer without standing up that function themselves, or for teams that already have security staff and want to take the 24/7 monitoring and first-response load off their plate.
No. Huntress takes the repetitive monitoring, validation, and first-response work off their plate and hands back finished incidents with response options already surfaced. Your team gets to focus on the work that needs human judgment, not the 3am alert queue. The things Huntress adds that your team isn't getting from Microsoft alone: ransomware canary detections, Huntress foothold and process-behavior telemetry, Managed ITDR response workflows, and EDR + identity correlation inside one incident report.
Yes. Huntress doesn't require Defender. If you've got a third-party endpoint engine you trust, Huntress adds Huntress-native detection and response on top, handling triage, investigation, validation, and response so your team isn't doing that work manually. Managed ITDR and identity isolation are independent of which endpoint engine is running. That said, if you're open to revisiting the endpoint spend, Huntress can operate Defender AV through Managed EDR and add Huntress-only detections on top, and the economics tend to close fast when you remove the duplicate engine bill.
Microsoft surfaces the signal. Huntress adds the detection and response outcomes on top. A few things worth naming specifically:
- Ransomware in progress. Huntress canaries detect active file encryption the moment it starts and open a SOC investigation immediately.
- Persistent footholds and malicious process behavior. The adversary behavior that tends to get missed or de-prioritized when alert queues get long.
- Microsoft 365 identity abuse. Managed ITDR handles Business Email Compromise (BEC), session hijacking, and rogue OAuth apps with human-validated response, not just alerts.
- Endpoint-to-identity correlation. When an infostealer hits a machine, Huntress ties that detection to the cloud accounts at risk and executes the identity-side response in the same incident.
Regardless of your Microsoft licensing, the most important thing is to have the team to tune, monitor, validate and respond. The higher-tier Microsoft controls are real additions, but someone still has to operate them. Huntress adds the operator layer for the specific controls Huntress integrates with today (Defender AV, Defender for Endpoint/Business, Entra/M365), plus Huntress-native detections (ransomware canaries, persistent foothold detection, malicious process behavior monitoring) and a 24/7 SOC that investigates, validates, and responds rather than handing back alerts.
Microsoft Gives You the Controls. Huntress Makes Them Operational.
