VIPRE email security integrates with Microsoft Defender

VIPRE Security Group has launched an integration between its Integrated Email Security product and Microsoft Defender for Office 365, bringing VIPRE's phishing and business email compromise (BEC) detections into the Microsoft security console.

The integration connects VIPRE's email threat detection engine with Defender for Office 365, a security product used by many organisations running Microsoft 365. It targets phishing and BEC, a type of fraud that often uses impersonation and social engineering to trigger payments or the disclosure of sensitive information.

Email security teams often rely on a mix of tools for filtering, detection, and investigation. That can split workflows across multiple dashboards and create separate quarantine areas for suspicious messages. With this integration, VIPRE detections appear inside Microsoft Defender, providing a single view of email security posture and a consolidated workflow for alerts.

How it works

VIPRE Integrated Email Security is a cloud-based detection engine for identifying malicious and suspicious email activity. Under the integration, its detections appear in the Microsoft Defender portal alongside Microsoft's own signals.

The integration uses Microsoft's ICES vendor ecosystem for Defender for Microsoft 365, an extensibility layer that lets security vendors contribute detections, intelligence, and response actions within Microsoft's security operations tools.

Organisations can use a single quarantine that includes detections from both Microsoft and VIPRE, along with consolidated dashboards and consistent reporting inside Defender. VIPRE positioned the combined approach as layered protection with fewer management steps.

Customer access

The integration is available to customers licensed for Microsoft Defender for Office 365 P2 and requires a subscription to VIPRE Integrated Email Security.

Deployment does not require additional infrastructure or agents. Customers can enable it via the Microsoft Defender for Office 365 ICES vendor ecosystem and access VIPRE detections within the Defender portal.

Phishing pressure

The integration arrives as email-based threats continue to evolve in both volume and technique. Phishing kits are widely available, lowering the barrier for criminal groups. Many campaigns now rely on social engineering rather than malware attachments, which can make detection and user decision-making harder.

VIPRE said its detection engines assess language patterns that indicate manipulation, including emotional cues and behavioural pressure commonly used in phishing and BEC. It described this as a way to identify intent behind malicious emails.

These attacks often aim to bypass traditional filtering by avoiding links or attachments that trigger scanning. They also use pretexting and impersonation that can appear plausible to staff in finance, procurement, and executive support roles.

Many organisations now treat email as part of a broader identity and cloud security environment. That shift has increased demand for tools that fit existing security operations centre workflows. Microsoft has been expanding Defender's ecosystem as part of its broader security platform strategy, with partners adding detections within Microsoft's interface rather than running separate systems.

The VIPRE integration follows that direction by placing third-party detections in the same operational view as Microsoft-generated alerts. For security teams, the value typically depends on whether it reduces duplicate investigations and cuts time spent switching between tools.

VIPRE Security Group is part of Ziff Davis and operates a portfolio of security and privacy brands. Its products include endpoint security, email security, threat intelligence, and security awareness training.

VIPRE framed the partnership as a way to extend its email security specialism into Microsoft's environment.

"VIPRE's specialised detection technology brings a unique layer of insight to the Microsoft ecosystem, helping customers stop the kinds of sophisticated phishing and BEC attacks that often evade traditional filters. We're proud to be a trusted vendor within Microsoft's ICES ecosystem and to contribute our deep email security expertise to strengthen protection for millions of Microsoft 365 users worldwide," said Usman Choudhary, General Manager, VIPRE Security Group.