Introduction
Microsoft Security Copilot transforms how security and IT professionals investigate threats, troubleshoot device issues, and respond to incidents. By combining generative AI with your organization's security data from Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, and other sources, Security Copilot accelerates investigations from hours to minutes and helps teams of all skill levels perform complex security operations.
In this module, you learn how to leverage Security Copilot's AI-powered capabilities to investigate security incidents, analyze device issues, and generate actionable remediation recommendations—building on the endpoint security foundation established in Modules 1-5.
Learning objectives
By the end of this module, you're able to:
- Describe Microsoft Security Copilot capabilities and integration with Intune and Defender
- Use natural language prompts to investigate security incidents and device issues
- Leverage Copilot in Intune to troubleshoot device problems and analyze compliance
- Analyze attack timelines and generate incident summaries with Copilot in Defender
- Generate remediation recommendations using Copilot's AI-powered guidance
- Apply best practices for effective prompting and AI-assisted security operations
Scenario: Contoso's need for faster incident response
Contoso Healthcare has deployed a comprehensive endpoint management and security infrastructure:
- Enrolled 800 Windows devices with Microsoft Entra ID and Intune
- Configured Windows Autopilot for streamlined device deployment
- Applied device configuration and compliance policies
- Protected corporate data with Microsoft Purview Information Protection and data loss prevention policies
- Hardened endpoints with security baselines, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, and attack surface reduction
Despite these strong defenses, Contoso's security team faces new challenges:
| Challenge Category | Current Problems | Business Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Investigation bottlenecks | Security analysts spend 3-4 hours investigating each suspicious incident; junior analysts struggle to interpret complex Defender alerts and attack timelines; manual correlation of data across Intune (device health) and Defender (threats) is time-consuming | Limited staff means some alerts remain uninvestigated for days; increased risk of missed threats |
| Device troubleshooting delays | Help desk receives 50+ device compliance issues per week; IT admins manually review policies, settings, and logs to identify root causes; complex errors require escalation to senior engineers | Increased resolution time; users experience productivity loss while waiting for device fixes |
| Lack of actionable intelligence | Threat reports are technical and difficult for management to understand; remediation recommendations are generic, not tailored to Contoso's environment | Knowledge is siloed in experienced analysts' heads, not shared across the team; inconsistent response quality |
Contoso's goals for this module:
| Goal | Target Outcome | Success Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Accelerate incident investigations | Use AI to analyze alerts, correlate data, and summarize incidents | Reduce investigation time from hours to minutes |
| Empower all skill levels | Enable junior analysts and help desk staff to perform complex investigations with natural language queries | Junior analysts handle incidents independently without senior escalation |
| Improve device troubleshooting | Quickly diagnose compliance failures, policy conflicts, and device health issues | Reduce helpdesk resolution time from 30-60 min to 5-10 min |
| Generate actionable intelligence | Create executive summaries, remediation plans, and investigation reports automatically | Non-technical stakeholders understand security posture without translation |
| Scale security operations | Handle growing alert volumes without hiring additional staff | Process 3x more incidents per day with same headcount |
Microsoft Security Copilot addresses these challenges through AI-powered investigation, troubleshooting, and remediation capabilities. In the next unit, you explore what Security Copilot is, how it works, and its deep integration with Intune and Defender for Endpoint.
Prerequisites
To get the most from this module, you should have:
| Prerequisite Type | Requirement | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing | Microsoft 365 E5 or E7 license, or standalone Security Copilot license | E5/E7 includes auto-provisioned Security Copilot capacity (400 SCUs/month per 1,000 licenses); standalone requires separate SCU purchase |
| Permissions | Security Administrator, Security Operator, or Intune Administrator role | Required to access security data and execute response actions |
| Knowledge (Required) | Working knowledge of security operations and incident response | Understanding of security concepts, threat types, and remediation processes |
| Training (Recommended) | Describe Microsoft Security Copilot module | Covers Security Copilot basics, terminology, and effective prompting |
| Experience (Recommended) | Familiarity with Microsoft Defender portal and Intune admin center | Helps navigate embedded Copilot experiences more efficiently |
What's next?
Next, you explore Security Copilot's capabilities in detail, including its architecture, licensing options, integration with Intune and Defender, and the types of investigations it can accelerate.
Let's begin your journey to AI-powered security operations!