Microsoft Mechanics Podcast

Take control of your data by discovering sensitive information across every file type and location with Microsoft Purview Information Protection. Classify your data, apply clear labels, and enforce protections that automatically adapt to human and AI interactions so you can reduce risk without slowing down workflows. Proactively monitor, assess, and respond to risk in real time. Use labeling and layered policies to stop accidental sharing, manage AI access, and maintain consistent protection across your organization. Matt McSpirit, Microsoft Mechanics expert, joins Jeremy Chapman to share how to turn scattered data into actionable security that moves as fast...

Identify what data was exposed in a breach, not just where it moved, but what it contains, how sensitive it is, and the risk it creates using Microsoft Purview Data Security Investigations. Search across massive volumes of files using natural language, pinpoint the highest risk content, and connect it to user activity to see the full scope of an incident. Investigate and act in one workflow. Analyze content deeply across files, emails, and AI interactions, uncover hidden or unclassified sensitive data, and contain exposure fast. Proactively identify risks, respond to incidents with clarity, and mitigate impact before...

Cut through alert noise and focus on the risks that matter with Agents in Microsoft Purview. Use Data Security Triage Agent to prioritize incidents, investigate user activity with full context, and uncover hidden patterns that signal real threats. Identify and act on high-risk behavior, like data exfiltration or persistent access, before it leads to data loss. Detect sensitive data across your environment using natural language with Data Security Posture Agent. Analyze content to find what's exposed, apply protections or restrict access, and surface hidden credentials, so you can take action and continuously reduce risk. Michelle...

Stay ahead of real-world threats without overwhelming your team using Microsoft Defender Experts for XDR. Offload high-severity incidents, gain full visibility into every investigation, and follow clear, guided remediation steps so you can contain attacks quickly and confidently, day or night. Extend your security operations with always-on managed detection and response and proactive threat hunting, so you can uncover hidden risks early, stop threats threats they spread, and strengthen your defenses to prevent future attacks.  Maynald Savatdy, Microsoft Defender Expert, shows how to detect, contain, and hunt threats across your environment with support from human e...

Automate device and security policy management by turning written compliance requirements into Intune policies. Use natural language to draft, refine, and deploy configuration profiles, review AI-generated recommendations with confidence scores, and stay in full control before publishing to your environment. Reduce risk and manual effort by automatically evaluating admin change requests and blocking harmful scripts before deployment. Prioritize vulnerabilities from Defender, translate them into actionable Intune remediation steps, and schedule ongoing fixes. Jason Githens, Microsoft Intune Principal GPM, shares how to move from reactive security work to continuous, proactive protection. Note: At the time of...

Stay productive without changing how you work with new Microsoft 365 Copilot and AI experiences on any Windows 11 PC. Access Copilot and agents right from the taskbar; find answers across your files, email, and meetings, and turn ideas into polished content using voice or text. AI is right there where you already work, so you can move faster, stay in your flow, and make better decisions without switching context, opening other apps or moving to the browser. And if you do have a Copilot+ PC, you can use fluid voice dictation across apps, find files with natural language...

Adopt a Zero Trust approach that lets you verify every access request—human, machine, or AI—before it reaches your most critical resources. As AI agents, semantic search, and automation accelerate how work gets done, you can reduce risk by explicitly validating identity, enforcing least-privilege access, and assuming breach across every step of your environment. Apply layered, continuous protection across identities, endpoints, networks, data, AI resources, applications, and infrastructure so attackers can't exploit any weak links. Michael Madrigal, Security Product Manager, shares how you can protect productivity and keep pace with an evolving threat landscape, by continuously asse...

Control AI agents as they are created across your environment by treating them like real identities with Microsoft Entra Agent ID. See every agent in one place, understand what it can access, detect agent sprawl early, and apply least-privilege permissions using the same Microsoft Entra tools you already use for users—without introducing new governance models. Approve and scope agent access with accountability, enforce agent-specific Conditional Access in real time, automatically block risky behavior, and ensure every agent always has an owner, even as people change roles or leave. Leandro Iwase, Microsoft Entra Senior Product Ma...

Strengthen your daily security workflow, focus on real risks, act faster, and stay ahead of emerging threats with new agents in Microsoft Purview. Use the Data Security Triage Agent to cut through alert overload, eliminate false positives, and immediately understand which Insider Risk or DLP incidents need your attention. Stay in control with automated user outreach and clear, contextual reasoning behind every alert. Use the Data Security Posture Agent to uncover risks that hide behind context with natural-language queries. When issues are found, apply labels and trigger security policies right from the insight, helping you proactively prevent...

Bring AI agents directly into your daily workflows with Microsoft Agent 365. Agents have their own identity, email, OneDrive and Teams presence, and collaborate just like coworkers. Onboard agents, give them the policies and knowledge they need, and let them work in parallel with you to handle procurement, approvals, research, and updates using the same Microsoft 365 tools you already rely on. As your use of agents grows, keep full visibility and control. Track every action, understand their impact across your organization, govern permissions with least-privilege access, and manage all agents from a single unified control plane. ...

It's never been easier to build, optimize, and govern AI apps and agents that understand your business context and deliver business impact. Our unified, interoperable AI platform enables developers to build faster and smarter, while organizations gain fleetwide security and governance in a unified portal. Yina Arenas, Microsoft Foundry CVP, shares how to keep your development and operations teams coordinated, ensuring productivity, governance, and visibility across all your AI projects. Learn more in this Microsoft Mechanics demo, and start building with Microsoft Foundry at ai.azure.com ► QUICK LINKS: 00:54 - Tour th...

Ground your AI agents on your organization's knowledge, pulling from multiple sources at once, connecting the dots automatically, and getting more accurate, context-rich answers without doing manual orchestration with Foundry IQ in Microsoft Foundry. Navigate complex, distributed data across Azure stores, SharePoint, OneLake, MCP servers, and even the web, all through a single knowledge base that handles query planning and iteration for you. Reuse the Azure AI Search assets you already have, build new knowledge bases with minimal setup, and control how much reasoning effort your agents apply. As you develop, you can rely on iterative retrieval...

Build powerful AI apps that run locally on any device—Windows, macOS, or mobile—without relying on the cloud using Foundry Local. Leverage full hardware performance, keep data private, reduce latency, and predict costs, even in offline or low-connectivity scenarios. Simplify development and deploy AI apps across diverse hardware and OS platforms with the Foundry Local SDK. Manage models locally, switch AI engines easily, and deliver consistent, multi-modal experiences, voice or text, without complex cross-platform setup. Raji Rajagopalan, Microsoft CoreAI Vice President, shares how to start quickly, test locally, and scale confidently. ► QUICK LINKS...

Unify your security data and use AI to reason over your entire digital estate with Microsoft Sentinel. See how threats evolve in real time, map attack paths, and understand which assets are most at risk. Visualize relationships across users, devices, and resources to pinpoint vulnerabilities and focus your response where it matters most. Using natural language, you can investigate faster. Ask questions, get context, and act on insights without writing complex queries. Build and extend your own identity graphs to include multicloud systems like Salesforce, enriching your view of risk. Vandana Mahtani, Microsoft Sentinel Principal PM, shares...

Connect users to on-premises resources while enforcing Conditional Access policies, including MFA, and eliminate the need for VPNs using Secure Access Service Edge with Microsoft Entra. Route authentication through Microsoft Entra before granting resource access, even within legacy on-premises systems. Boost performance with intelligent local access that keeps internal traffic local while routing only authentication to the cloud. Protect sensitive data from being uploaded to AI apps, and stop prompt injection attacks—without modifying your applications or AI models. Ashish Jain, Microsoft Entra Principal GPM, shares how to strengthen your zero trust architecture while simplifying the access ex...

Secure sign-in across all your devices without relying on passwords or extra apps using passkeys in Microsoft Entra. Register, sync, and use passkeys with just your device's camera and biometrics, making authentication seamless, fast, and phishing-resistant. As an admin, control who uses which passkey type, streamline recovery with Verified ID, and automatically remediate risk in real time. Jarred Boone, Identity Security Senior Product Manager, shows how users can access work apps safely, confidently, and efficiently while reducing help desk overhead. ► QUICK LINKS: 00:00 - Passkeys in Microsoft Entra ID 01:19 - Register your pa...

Locate, assess, and prioritize high-risk data across Microsoft and non-Microsoft services using Microsoft Purview Data Security Posture Management (DSPM). Identify sensitive files, understand emerging data risks, and focus remediation efforts where they matter most without slowing down productivity. You can also remediate oversharing, enforce data loss prevention policies, and monitor AI agent activity with full visibility into their interactions with sensitive data. Talhah Mir, Microsoft Purview Partner GM, shares how to take control of your data security posture, act on top priorities, and build a sustainable discipline for protecting your organization's information at scale. ► QUICK LI...

Automate real work, modernize app delivery, and keep users productive from any device with Windows 365 for Agents. Assign AI agents their own Cloud PCs to complete tasks in your apps and workflows using natural-language instructions to eliminate fragile UI-based automation and accelerate scalable, resilient processes across your organization. Publish individual Cloud Apps instead of full desktops to simplify management, modernize legacy applications, and deliver consistent experiences to any device. And if a device breaks, is lost, or needs repair, Windows 365 Reserve lets you instantly provide users with a secure, temporary Cloud PC, restoring productivity in minutes while...

Turn raw Excel data into actionable insights, visual dashboards, and KPIs in minutes. With Agent Mode, automate complex analysis, create pivot tables, and build interactive dashboards without manual setup. Streamline text analysis, formula generation, and complex calculations right inside Excel. Use the Copilot function to categorize feedback, score sentiment, or automate repetitive tasks, and leverage Formula AI to generate accurate formulas from plain language prompts. Jeremy Chapman, Microsoft 365 Director, shares how to work smarter and make faster, data-driven decisions in Microsoft Excel. ► QUICK LINKS:  00:00 - Excel and Microsoft 365 Copilot updates 01:24 - Age...

Strengthen your security posture by moving groups and users from Active Directory to Microsoft Entra. This gives you seamless access for your teams, stronger authentication with MFA and passwordless options, and centralized visibility into risks across your environment. Simplify hybrid identity management by reducing dual overhead, prioritizing key groups, migrating users without disruption, and automating policies with Graph or PowerShell. Jeremy Chapman, Microsoft 365 Director, shows how to start minimizing your local directory and make Microsoft Entra your source of authority to protect access everywhere. ► QUICK LINKS: 00:00 - Minimize Active Directory with Microsoft Entra...