Microsoft has announced in a blog post that it’s planning to bring the Defender antivirus to more platforms. This includes Microsoft Defender ATP for Linux which is now in public preview.
The company said that it would showcase its mobile antivirus developments for Android and iOS at the upcoming RSA conference. As per The Verge, we can expect the apps for respective platforms to arrive by the end of this year.
However, Microsoft’s first target will be Android and iOS devices used by enterprise customers. We can’t expect when ( or if) the Defender antivirus apps will be available to the regular consumers. Maybe, we would get to hear some positive announcements at the conference.
As for enterprise customers, Redmond offers a security suite called Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) to safeguard their operations and keep the malware away.
The latest move is in line with the corporate focus that Microsoft has developed in recent years. Back in March 2019, the Microsoft Defender ATP preview was launched for macOS devices. That was the time when Windows Defender ATP was rebranded to Microsoft Defender ATP as an attempt to market the security software as separate to Windows.
Now, speaking of mobile devices, there are already many different antivirus apps available for Android because of the flexibility that it provides. But iOS is a closed garden and Apple doesn’t allow third-party apps to scan the devices for potential malware.
It remains to be seen exactly how the company implements its security features. Android and iOS smartphones used in enterprise setups are even more vulnerable to attacks like MITM, Phishing, etc.
