May 7, 2025
Blog
Introduction
One of the biggest challenges in modern cloud environments isn’t just seeing threats — it’s responding to them. We’ve had the dashboards. We’ve had the alerts. But the real value kicks in when security signals turn into action.
Microsoft’s latest update to Defender for Cloud introduces a critical capability that makes this shift possible: Cloud Detection and Response (CDR).
So, what is CDR and why should you care?
Think of CDR as the cloud-native sibling of XDR — tailored for hybrid and multi-cloud environments. It’s designed to:
Collect telemetry across cloud workloads (PaaS, IaaS, and Kubernetes),
Correlate suspicious activity across services (e.g., suspicious downloads from Storage + suspicious key access from Key Vault),
And automatically trigger tailored responses (e.g., block tokens, isolate workloads, notify Sentinel).
This isn’t just about detection. It’s about closing the gap between insight and action.
Key Scenarios CDR Helps Detect
CDR brings contextual intelligence to use cases that were previously hard to catch without deep investigation:
Token theft or abuse: Identifying when access tokens are used from unexpected locations or workloads.
Compromised service identities: Catching cases where a managed identity or service principal is being misused.
Lateral movement or privilege escalation: Seeing how attackers might pivot between resources and escalate privileges using exposed secrets or misconfigured permissions.
CDR correlates these behaviors with the existing security posture — leveraging Microsoft Defender for Cloud’s CSPM engine — to provide not just alerts, but confidence and clarity.
How does it work?
Behind the scenes, Microsoft is fusing cloud-specific detections with Defender’s broad security stack:
Signals from Azure, AWS, GCP workloads.
Telemetry from security tools like Defender for Endpoint or Microsoft Sentinel.
Integration with playbooks in Microsoft Defender XDR or Logic Apps for automated remediation.
And importantly — no need to reinvent your incident response processes. This is built-in and extensible.
Why this matters now
As cloud environments grow more complex, traditional monitoring isn’t enough. Attackers know how to blend in — using legitimate services, chaining low-severity misconfigurations, and moving fast.
With CDR, your security tools aren’t just watching — they’re thinking and acting.
This is a powerful shift — from passive observability to active defense.
Want to learn more?
Check out Microsoft’s full blog here:
📎 From visibility to action: the power of Cloud Detection and Response