In the rapidly evolving landscape of cybersecurity, the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP) has once again recognized Microsoft as a Leader, marking the company's sixth consecutive year in this prestigious position. This consistent recognition underscores Microsoft's commitment to advancing endpoint security solutions amidst an increasingly complex threat environment.
Surge in Ransomware and Microsoft's Response
Since 2022, organizations have faced a 2.75-fold increase in human-operated ransomware attacks. Despite this surge, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has effectively reduced successful attacks by threefold, demonstrating its capability to counteract evolving cyber threats. This success is attributed to Microsoft's dedication to empowering security analysts with advanced tools to combat sophisticated cyber adversaries.
Comprehensive Endpoint Security Across Platforms
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers AI-driven detection and response capabilities across a diverse range of platforms, including Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. As an integral component of Microsoft's unified security operations platform, it leverages global threat intelligence derived from over 84 trillion daily signals and insights from more than 10,000 security experts.
Key Advancements in Endpoint Security
Over the past year, Microsoft has introduced several enhancements to bolster endpoint security:
- Exposure Management Capabilities: Defender for Endpoint provides security operations center (SOC) analysts with actionable risk scores, enabling them to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. In the event of an attack, analysts gain visibility into potential attack paths, facilitating swift and informed decision-making.
- Automatic Attack Disruption: This built-in self-defense mechanism contains ongoing cyberattacks, preventing lateral movement and minimizing organizational damage. Notably, it extends protection to unmanaged devices and critical assets, such as domain controllers, ensuring operational continuity during attacks.
- Enhanced Linux Support: Microsoft has expanded support to additional Linux distributions, including ARM64, and reduced resource requirements. The adoption of eBPF sensor technology enhances system control and security performance.
- Unified Agent Across XDR Workloads: A single agent simplifies activation and management across endpoint, operational technology (OT), identity, and data loss prevention workloads, streamlining deployment and management processes.
- Microsoft Security Copilot: Launched in April 2024, this generative AI solution assists SOC analysts in investigating, containing, and remediating cyber threats efficiently. Integrated into the Microsoft Defender portal, it offers endpoint-specific capabilities, including guided responses and natural language query translation.
- Global SOC Support: The Microsoft Defender portal is available in over 100 languages and dialects, with documentation in more than 60 languages, ensuring accessibility for security analysts worldwide.
- Defender Experts for XDR: This managed extended detection and response service provides 24/7 expert-led triage, investigation, and response across domains, along with proactive threat hunting, enhancing SOC capabilities.
Microsoft's recognition in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for EPP reflects its comprehensive vision and execution capabilities. Other industry leaders have also been acknowledged:
- SentinelOne: Recognized as a Leader for the fifth consecutive year, SentinelOne's Singularity Platform is noted for its AI-powered endpoint security. The company's focus on autonomous protection across endpoint, cloud, and data has been instrumental in its consistent leadership position.
- CrowdStrike: Achieving its sixth consecutive recognition as a Leader, CrowdStrike's Falcon platform is distinguished for its AI-native approach to endpoint protection. The platform's unified architecture and agentic AI innovations have set a benchmark in the industry.
- Sophos: Named a Leader for the 15th consecutive time, Sophos' Intercept X Endpoint is lauded for its adaptive defenses and comprehensive protection against advanced cyber threats. The company's commitment to continuous innovation has solidified its longstanding leadership.
Microsoft's sustained leadership in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms highlights its unwavering commitment to advancing cybersecurity solutions. Through continuous innovation and a comprehensive approach to endpoint security, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint remains a pivotal tool in safeguarding organizations against the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats.
Source: Microsoft Microsoft is named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Endpoint Protection Platforms | Microsoft Security Blog
