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Employee uses Microsoft 365
A user works in Microsoft 365 for everyday tasks such as email, file access, Teams collaboration, and cloud-based business operations.
Normal activity begins in a trusted account environment.
CYBERSECURITY
If your team relies on employee accounts to access cloud platforms like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, compromised credentials can create a severe security risk. Attackers can bypass standard defenses like antivirus, endpoint protection, and even multifactor authentication (MFA).
ITDR closes this gap by monitoring 24/7 for suspicious activity and mounting a rapid investigation and response before an attacker can access sensitive data.
Fidelis helps Seattle-area organizations proactively manage identity-based threats, integrating ITDR seamlessly into your broader IT and cybersecurity strategy to keep your cloud-connected operations secure.
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(Obligation-free)
206-725-7728
3K+
Devices under management
28+
Local Seattle employees
50+
Completed M365 migrations
Average employee tenure
2008
Founded in Seattle
A user works in Microsoft 365 for everyday tasks such as email, file access, Teams collaboration, and cloud-based business operations.
An attacker steals login credentials or hijacks an authenticated browser session, potentially bypassing standard protections.
Unusual sign-ins, odd access patterns, privilege changes, or unexpected behavior begin to appear inside the account.
Identity-focused monitoring helps detect abnormal behavior, flag suspicious activity, and support rapid investigation before a breach escalates.
Traditional antivirus and endpoint security are designed to protect physical devices. But they can fail if an attacker has stolen valid credentials or an active browser session.
The intruder isn’t using malware to infect a device; they are logging directly into Microsoft 365, email, or cloud documents as if they were an employee. Once inside, they can bypass multifactor authentication by leveraging hijacked sessions, allowing them to freely browse files, send deceptive emails, and alter settings without ever touching a monitored device.
Because this access looks legitimate, endpoint security alone leaves a massive gap. ITDR bridges it by actively analyzing account behaviors, recognizing when sessions are being abused, and alerting investigators to suspicious events even when no malware is present.
ITDR is designed to protect your identity infrastructure. It continuously monitors for and mitigates identity-based attacks, helping your organization quickly detect compromised credentials, unauthorized privilege escalation, and insider threats before they breach critical systems.
We monitor logins from unfamiliar locations, devices, or networks. While legitimate travel or routine VPN usage can trigger these alerts, investigating unusual access patterns is crucial.
Ignoring anomalies like these could allow infiltrators to map your internal network, stealing customer data or locking down your own backups in a ransomware attack.
Hackers can acquire valid usernames and passwords to gain unauthorized access to employee or administrator accounts. ITDR alerts the Fidelis team to these illicit logins immediately.
Unchecked account takeovers expose your proprietary business files, financial records, and internal communications to theft.
Cybercriminals can steal authenticated session cookies to bypass passwords and MFA prompts entirely. ITDR tracks active sessions to ensure they actually belong to your staff.
Hijacked sessions grant attackers immediate, frictionless access to your cloud environment to deploy ransomware or steal data.
Attackers trick users into granting access to rogue third-party or OAuth applications. ITDR monitors these integrations to ensure only verified applications connect to your data.
Seemingly legitimate app permissions can secretly siphon your customer databases and company records to external servers.
ITDR identifies unauthorized access to business mailboxes, flagging suspicious or hidden inbox forwarding rules designed to intercept messages.
Compromised email allows attackers to manipulate vendor invoices and intercepted communications, facilitating financial fraud and wire theft.
ITDR alerts on suspicious account-permission changes, administrative privilege misuse, and tampering with established MFA methods or device registrations.
If attackers successfully elevate their access or alter security configurations, they can disable defenses and lock you out of your systems, facilitating ransom demands.
Our ITDR service deploys a structured process to protect your organization from identity-based attacks. Here is exactly what happens:
We begin by identifying your supported identity platforms, including Microsoft 365, Entra ID, and Active Directory, as well as Google Workspace. During this phase, we establish the relevant coverage and access requirements while reviewing your existing security tools to ensure clear responsibilities and seamless integration.
Once deployed, ITDR continuously analyzes identity and authentication signals to identify suspicious behavior. Coverage includes deep monitoring of Microsoft 365 activity and AI-driven anomaly detection. Backed by 24/7 SOC monitoring, our systems can execute automated remediation actions — such as immediately blocking an account and revoking active sessions — to instantly stop an attacker from moving through your environment.
When an anomaly triggers an alert, security analysts review the relevant activity and context to distinguish malicious behavior from legitimate account use. Investigation workflows and contact protocols can be configured per client. However, we typically enable both automatic and analyst-initiated responses to ensure threats are handled quickly while keeping your team informed.
Verified incidents immediately create a ticket for automated alerting, and can also initiate an urgent automated text message or email. For our managed service clients, the Fidelis team triages all communication with the ITDR SOC and coordinates any response required from our team or yours. Containment actions may include restricting the account, revoking sessions, resetting credentials, or coordinating broader containment steps.
After the threat is neutralized, we help your users safely regain access. We review the suspicious activity alongside the steps taken to identify relevant follow-up actions or security-control improvements. All incidents are logged directly into our ticketing system, ensuring that comprehensive reporting and remediation recommendations are always available to you.
Many organizations depend on Microsoft 365 for daily operations, relying on its email, file storage, collaboration, and user authentication. Because the platform houses your critical data, identity-based threats can compromise your access to vital applications like Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive.
To defend these environments, Fidelis ITDR actively detects suspicious behavior. We connect with your primary cloud and directory systems, ensuring that your organization’s most critical workspaces are continuously monitored for unauthorized access and malicious behavior.
Our ITDR service provides comprehensive monitoring and response capabilities for the core environments your business relies on most:
ITDR works alongside your current tools to close critical security gaps. Within your Microsoft 365 ecosystem, you likely rely on Microsoft Defender for Endpoint to block malware on your computers and Microsoft Authenticator to provide multifactor authentication.
While tools like Defender protect your physical devices, ITDR specifically guards your cloud identity. And if an attacker bypasses MFA using a stolen session cookie, traditional endpoint tools will not flag the breach because no malware is involved. ITDR identifies this “invisible” identity abuse in Microsoft 365, completing your cybersecurity posture. Here is how ITDR augments some common cybersecurity tools.
| Existing security | Main purpose | How ITDR fits |
|---|---|---|
| Multifactor authentication (MFA) | Requires additional verification when users authenticate | While MFA is a barrier at login, ITDR catches the attackers who manage to bypass MFA. |
| Endpoint detection and response (EDR) | Detects and responds to suspicious activity on monitored devices | While EDR protects devices, ITDR protects your cloud accounts from stolen passwords and hijacked sessions. |
| Microsoft Entra ID Protection | Detects suspicious account and authentication activity for Microsoft 365 cloud accounts | ITDR provides the 24/7 human expertise to investigate the alerts and fully clean up the breach. |
| Managed detection and response (MDR) | Provides outsourced threat monitoring, investigation, and response | ITDR's identity monitoring is not typically included in MDR solutions. |
If your team operates in a remote or hybrid environment, you likely depend on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace and their cloud collaboration platforms. When employees access sensitive internal and customer information through these cloud services, protecting identities becomes just as important as securing your physical office.
Most organizations don't have a dedicated cybersecurity analyst. If your IT people are already stretched thin managing operational duties and help desk tickets, they'll likely lack the specialized tools and knowledge to monitor alerts and thoroughly investigate suspicious identity activity around the clock.
If you handle financial, operational, client, employee, or donor information, you likely face strict security and cyber-insurance expectations. This demands more than just basic tools; you need clear incident response rules and documentation. ITDR provides the verifiable oversight and response capabilities necessary to keep you secure and compliant.
Fidelis provides the dedicated expertise and operational integration necessary to turn raw security data into active protection.
Founded in Seattle and headquartered in Renton, we are a local partner proudly supporting organizations across the Puget Sound. Our team takes full accountability, developing a deep understanding of your IT environment that distant software vendors simply cannot match.
Identity protection is integrated directly into your existing workflows. From managing Microsoft 365 permissions and account administration to secure employee onboarding and offboarding, we can coordinate seamlessly with your internal IT and leadership to keep your cloud environment secure.
The ITDR service leverages the 24/7 monitoring of our SOC and the advanced skills of our in-house CISSPs (Certified Information Systems Security Professionals). This expertise allows our team to take clear responsibility for investigating and escalating incidents, so your team is never left guessing during a crisis.
Tell us what identity platforms your organization uses, what security measures are in place, and your concerns about account security.
Learn where identity monitoring will be useful, what your existing tools can already provide, and where additional support may be needed.
Working together, we’ll clarify your service coverage, roles and responsibilities, integrations, and the next steps to securing your cloud environment.
Let's discuss how you currently protect your accounts, access, and sensitive business information. We can help you identify potential blind spots and determine the appropriate identity security coverage to keep your cloud-connected operations safe.
It's not a sales call. You’ll have someone on the phone who loves solving problems and knows what questions to ask.
Get answers now
(Obligation-free)
206-725-7728
ITDR is a security discipline for monitoring identity-related activity across Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and other cloud-connected business systems. It establishes a baseline for normal, safe user behavior. It then uses this baseline to recognize anomalous (fraudulent) authentication attempts. When such a threat is detected, ITDR supports rapid investigation and response (either automated or human) to lock down compromised accounts before a breach can escalate.
ITDR and EDR protect different attack vectors. EDR is designed to protect monitored physical devices (such as laptops, desktops, and servers) from malware and malicious execution. ITDR, in contrast, focuses on monitoring cloud accounts, user behaviors, and authentication activity.
Because most security tools focus on either device activity or cloud identity — but rarely both — deploying ITDR alongside EDR provides a comprehensive defense.
No, they serve distinct purposes. While both protect your organization, MDR is a comprehensive, outsourced service that typically focuses on 24/7 endpoint security monitoring and remediation, whereas the ITDR framework focuses on protecting user credentials, access permissions, and identity systems like Microsoft’s Active Directory.
Here is how they differ across three key areas:
Scope: MDR covers your entire IT infrastructure (endpoints, servers, network, and cloud); ITDR focuses solely on the identity infrastructure (user accounts, directory services, and access privileges).
Threat focus: MDR hunts for malware, ransomware, and network intrusions; ITDR looks for credentials theft, privilege escalation, and account takeovers.
Delivery: MDR is typically a human-led service featuring a 24/7 security operations center (SOC); ITDR is an automated toolset or platform integrated into your existing security stack.
Yes. While MFA significantly reduces risk, it is no longer impenetrable. Sophisticated attackers can now use “man-in-the-middle” techniques to bypass MFA prompts or steal valid session cookies, allowing them to hijack active sessions without needing a password or MFA code.
ITDR provides an essential layer of defense to detect these advanced identity-abuse techniques that bypass traditional barriers.
Your IT Manager as a Service will be the coordinating, leadership role, overseeing responsibilities, goals, KPIs, etc. They report to your organization’s leadership, so that decision-making about your technology is better aligned with your business goals, supported by data and insights.
Yes, absolutely. ITDR continuously monitors your Microsoft 365 environment for suspicious activities like unrealistic travel logins, unauthorized inbox forwarding rules, and unusual file access patterns.
At Fidelis, our ITDR coverage includes dedicated, deep integration with Microsoft 365 and its built-in tools, ensuring your critical email, SharePoint, and Teams environments are actively defended against identity-driven attacks.
When ITDR flags an anomaly, it triggers a structured investigation and containment process. The Fidelis security team rapidly reviews the alert to determine if the activity is a legitimate user action or a genuine threat. If an account is compromised, we take swift, pre-approved actions — such as suspending the compromised account, revoking active session tokens, and blocking the malicious IP address — to isolate the threat while we guide your team through a full remediation.
This can be configured per client, but we typically enable both automatic and analyst-initiated responses.
Incidents create a ticket for automated alerting, but also can initiate an automated text message or email. For our managed service clients, our team will triage any communication with the ITDR SOC team and help communicate any response needed from the Fidelis team or by the client directly.
Yes to both questions. While ITDR relies on automation to detect credential theft and behavioral anomalies in real time, end-user training is critical to prevent the initial human errors that let attackers bypass defenses in the first place. Typical user errors include signing up for unauthorized cloud or AI tools, sharing credentials in email or social media, or falling for sophisticated phishing attacks.
Reach out to us with your specifics, and we’ll be happy to create an identity-protection training program for your team.