Hello everyone! While I usually only post about technological topics, I will also speak about some personal topics of the year (and decade) that is now almost finished.
The blog
But first lets have a look at what happened on my blog this year. Although I started it in November 2018, I only started writing at the current frequency in 2019. I kicked of the year introducing the new Microsoft 365 E5 Security & Compliance licenses that can be used to get additional functionality apon M365 E3. That topic was then concluded by my Microsoft 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E5 security baslines. Both contain best practices I also use in customer projects. In July, Microsoft really kicked of the passwordless journey which I am a big fan of. I covered how you can use the Authenticator app, FIDO2 keys, and Windows Hello for Business in a dedicated blog post.
Another highlight for me was managing “legacy” (but also modern) features by cloud solutions, e.g. deploying and managing AppLocker with Intune and Microsoft Defender ATP. While I recently focused very much on threat protection, identity is still a big topic for me as I started my career with Active Directory with a security focus. So, topics like Azure AD Identity Protection were also covered. I also followed up with the passwordless journey in a second post about some more details regarding FIDO2 security keys.
And – of course – there are all the posts about Microsoft Defender ATP / Microsoft Threat Protection:
- Threat & Vulnerability Management – improve client security with MDATP
- Automate MDATP response with Microsoft Flow
- MDATP + Azure Logic Apps: Default connectors vs. HTTP REST
- Microsoft Threat Protection – unified hunting
- Microsoft Threat Protection – unified incidents
I also covered Azure AD security defaults and how to protect from malicious email that couldn’t be filtered.
People of 2019
People can have a strong impact. They inspire, help, listen, or are just there for you. I want to use this opportunity to thank some of them.
Christoph, I will forever be thankful for your openness and help, especially while being my mentor in the beginning of my career. I have always admired your knowledge and dedication, and I will continue following your example to improve myself.
Simon, I once read a status of yours that said (roughly translated) “Go further and further”. This inspired me so many times in situations where I was stuck or didn’t know how to go on. Thank you for your fellowship and dedication!
Linus, your commitment to know everything about your field of expertise couldn’t be bigger. Thank you for your inspiration and friendship (won’t write more than that publicly as that is personal stuff and I already thanked you in person).
I would also like to thank Dan, Heike, Raviv, and many others from the ninjacat community for their heplfulness and efforts to help customers and partners to get the most out of Microsofts security solutions.
Personal thoughts aka looking back at the 10er years
This has been one hell of a decade! Yeah, I know that technically 2021 is the beginning of the next official one. Whatever you call it, the last 10 years have been an incredible journey and I would never have guessed where I end up in 2020 or what kind of human I would become. These 10 years mark my whole adult life. I finished school in 2010, however, struggled to find my real destination at first, but still managed to end up fine and found my place in the infosec community. There have been so many moments in which I didn’t see the dawn at the horizon and yet everything turned out alright. The help of others, dedication, and – yeah – also luck saved it for me. I wish everyone struggling at the moment to accomplish that as well! And I will definitely continue mentoring as much people as possible.
Thinking about 2020 in the 90ies definitely felt like the bright future. Where problems are solved and the world can live in peace. We all know we are note quite there yet. But nothing is impossible and before it gets too political lets get back to the topic:
I will continue to give my best to make a positive impact to the world in the 20ies that lie before us. And while everyday work might seem insignificant I strongly believe that every action and every person counts. Together we can achieve more, and I’m looking forward to be part of it.
Thanks for reading and all the best for 2020!
Chris