Microsoft bringing Defender to Linux desktops. Repeat: Microsoft bringing Defender to Linux desktops

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Smiggles

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www.theregister.com

Microsoft bringing Defender to Linux desktops. Repeat: Microsoft bringing Defender to Linux desktops

The year of Corporate Compliance on the Linux desktop is here
www.theregister.com www.theregister.com
It might not be the Year of the Linux Desktop yet, but it could be the Year of Corporate Compliance on the Linux Desktop as Microsoft releases Defender for Linux Workstations.

The product is an extension of Microsoft's existing Defender for Endpoint. According to the Windows behemoth, it brings "enterprise-grade protection, detection, vulnerability management and response capabilities to Linux workstations."

Linux desktop users will get services including Defender's anti-virus functionality. The penguin-primed product also has management tools for inventory and security settings, as well as device isolation. "The result," said Microsoft, "is broader Linux protection, delivered through the tools and processes security teams already trust."
Click to expand...
 
I don't know why the internet is making such a big deal about this. This is endpoint, and everyone who is supposedly in IT is now an expert on enrollment. It has also been a long time coming, and I am surprised that it took this long. For me it is odd to see people not knowing that there are non-Windows machines within a 'Windows' ecosystem.
 
Vertical markets. Maybe they noticed attacks in WSL and across their Azure hosting that sent the power bill up, so get paid for the power bill. That said, they probably have quite a good AV team, considering defender has been in Windows for a few generations, and the other vendors have been making deals with OEMs so they can capture subscriptions. It would be awesome if they help ClamAV (haven't paid attention there in years).

Realistically, a lot of modern attacks are phishing and privilege escalation. PUA would be the route to block, and they have quite a list for Windows and MacOS (assumption)
 
What the article fails to mention is that antivirus on Linux workstations primarily serve as a means to inoculate against passing on any nasties to Windows peers. The Win64-targeting payloads have no effect on Linux environments.

In any case, ClamAV is more than adequate, like it has been for the past 24 years, and it's maintained by Cisco's cyber-security division, whom I see as more capable.
 
Meh. I get greeted with a message once in a while that I need to sign in to Defender but it fails. Can sign into everything else though.
 
This is not terrible from a governance/compliance point of view.

Many companies have a microsoft ecosystem in place, including centralised management/inventory/patch assessment etc, already. If alternative operating systems can be incorporated into this reporting ecosystem, it becomes a lot easier for those operating systems to get a foothold in the estate, since the risk people can still see all their exposure on a single dashboard - it's one major obstacle removed.
 
It just feels like this move was an afterthought, seeing as Microsoft is late to the Linux AV party.

For Microsoft Windows-specific threats​

These applications are useful for computers (typically, servers) which will pass on files to Microsoft Windows users. They do not look for Linux-specific threats.

For Linux-specific threats​

These applications look for actual threats to the Linux computers on which they are running.

Click to expand...
Source: Wikipedia
 
Well, most big corps have been running it on their Linux servers for years, so why not desktops as well. Just easier to manage everything through one portal
 
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