From transparency to action: What the latest Microsoft email security benchmark reveals

According to Microsoft Defender for Office 365 ICES vendor ecosystem, the latest benchmarking data show that Microsoft Defender removes an average of 70.8% of malicious email post-delivery, helping to shrink dwell time when threats bypass initial filters. The report highlights that layering ICES solutions with Defender yields incremental detection gains across promotional, spam, and malicious messages, with an average combined benefit of 13.7% in reducing inbox clutter.

Focusing on post‑delivery remediation, the analysis finds Defender’s zero hour auto purge removes 70.8% of threats that reached the inbox, while ICES vendors contribute a further 29.2%. The ICES vendor ecosystem now includes four partners—Darktrace, KnowBe4, Cisco, and VIPRE Security Group—all integrated into Defender to provide a single pane of glass and defend across the email attack lifecycle.

The study also notes that for high-severity threats missed by Secure Email Gateway vendors, Defender missed fewer than many peers, reinforcing the value of integrated, multi‑vendor protection alongside native platform intelligence. Looking ahead, Microsoft says it will continue publishing benchmarking insights on a regular basis.