What's new in Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Microsoft Defender for Business

Applies to:

This article lists new features in the latest release of Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Microsoft Defender for Business. Features that are currently in preview are denoted with (preview).

January 2023

Attack surface reduction rules report is now available. Attack surface reduction rules target certain behaviors that are considered risky because they are commonly abused by attackers through malware. In the Microsoft 365 Defender portal (https://security.microsoft.com/), you can now view a report showing detections and configuration information for attack surface reduction rules. In the navigation pane, choose Reports, and under Endpoints, choose Attack surface reduction rules.
Default experience for Defender for Business when an enterprise plan is added. Defender for Business now retains its default experience (simplified configuration and setup) even if an enterprise plan, such as Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 or Microsoft Defender for Servers Plan 1 or 2 is added. To learn more, see What happens if I have a mix of Microsoft endpoint security subscriptions?

Microsoft Defender for Business servers, a new add-on for Defender for Business, is now generally available. To learn more, see the following articles:
- How to get Microsoft Defender for Business servers
- Tech Community Blog: Server security made simple for small businesses
License reporting (preview) in Defender for Business. A new report (rolling out in preview) enables you to view your Defender for Business license usage. To learn more, see Reports in Microsoft Defender for Business.

Microsoft Defender for Business servers (preview) is available to customers who have at least one paid license of Microsoft 365 Business Premium or Defender for Business. See Tech Community blog: Server protection for small business is now in preview within Microsoft Defender for Business.

Defender for Business (standalone) is now generally available. To learn more, see the following resources:

Microsoft 365 Business Premium now includes Defender for Business. To learn more, see Tech Community blog: New security solutions to help secure small and medium businesses.