Microsoft’s current product for this topic is Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps. It began with the role of a cloud access security broker (CASB), but Microsoft describes it today as a broader cross-SaaS security service covering cloud app discovery, SaaS security posture management (SSPM), information protection, threat protection integrated with Microsoft Defender, and OAuth app governance. It is not a universal proxy that automatically protects every cloud app: coverage depends on the data sources, connected apps, policies, licensing, and configuration in your tenant.
What is Microsoft’s CASB?
A CASB helps an organization see and govern use of cloud services. Microsoft’s current service, Defender for Cloud Apps, adds discovery and control features across supported SaaS applications, alongside integrations with Microsoft’s identity, endpoint, information-protection, and threat-management tools. Microsoft’s overview describes the service as spanning CASB capabilities, SSPM, XDR threat protection, and protection for app-to-app OAuth connections.
In practical terms, administrators can use it to find cloud app activity, assess application risk, apply policies to connected services, investigate alerts, and govern apps that have permission to access organizational data. These are capabilities available for configured scenarios—not a guarantee that every app, user, file, or session is covered.
What can Defender for Cloud Apps do?
Discover cloud app use
The service can assess network traffic against Microsoft’s cloud app catalog, show which apps are in use, and identify users and third-party apps able to sign in. Microsoft says the overview’s discovery feature evaluates apps against more than 90 risk indicators; that figure is from Microsoft’s 2024 overview and should not be treated as a permanent catalog specification. The service can also monitor policy conditions and alert on unusual activity, such as a spike in an app’s usage.
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Protect information in connected SaaS apps
For supported and connected apps, Defender for Cloud Apps can scan files for sensitive information and work with Microsoft Purview classification. Documented policy actions include applying a sensitivity label, blocking downloads to unmanaged devices, and removing external collaborators from confidential files. Whether a specific action is available depends on the app connection, policy, and licensing.
Detect and respond to threats
Microsoft describes controls that include adaptive access control, user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA), malware mitigation, and correlation with Microsoft Defender signals. As Microsoft Learn puts it in its overview, “Defender for Cloud Apps offers built-in adaptive access control (AAC), provides user and entity behavior analysis (UEBA), and helps you mitigate malware.” This is Microsoft’s description of product capabilities, not an independent measure of detection performance.
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Govern OAuth-connected apps
OAuth applications can be granted permission to access organizational data. Defender for Cloud Apps can help administrators review app activity and permissions, including identifying unused OAuth apps and checking current or expired credentials. The value of this governance depends on which apps and connections are in scope and how administrators configure review or remediation.
How does cloud app discovery get its data?
Discovery requires a source of activity data. Microsoft documents two routes in its cloud discovery deployment guidance:
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- Defender for Endpoint integration: collect cloud traffic information from managed Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices. This gives visibility into activity from those enrolled endpoints; it does not by itself represent every device or network user.
- Firewall or proxy log collection: deploy the Defender for Cloud Apps log collector to ingest traffic logs. This route can provide broader coverage for devices whose traffic passes through the logging network infrastructure.
Built-in app connectors use cloud providers’ APIs to provide additional visibility and control over connected services. These API connections complement traffic discovery; they are not interchangeable with monitoring every network session. Microsoft recommends beginning with a pilot for selected groups before expanding monitoring.
Is Office 365 Cloud App Security the same product?
No. Microsoft’s comparison, dated June 3, 2025, characterizes Office 365 Cloud App Security as a subset focused on Office 365, supporting only the Office 365 app connector. The broader Defender for Cloud Apps offer is designed for cross-SaaS discovery and protection. See Microsoft’s Office 365 Cloud App Security comparison and verify current entitlements before relying on the distinction for procurement.
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Cloud App Discovery is another subset, focused on discovering cloud app usage. Microsoft’s comparison says it is included at no additional cost with Microsoft Entra ID P1, EMS E3, and Microsoft 365 E3. The page lists 31,000+ apps in its comparison table; a separate Office 365 comparison lists different catalog figures—34,000+ for the full product and 750+ for Office 365 Cloud App Security. Because Microsoft’s pages report different counts, treat them as page-specific figures rather than a single stable catalog total or evidence of a trend. See the Cloud App Discovery comparison.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What license do you need?
Microsoft lists Defender for Cloud Apps as available both as a standalone license and in selected bundles, including EMS E5, Microsoft 365 E5/A5/G5, Microsoft Defender suites, Microsoft Purview suites, and some information protection and governance plans. The service description also says Conditional Access App Control requires Microsoft Entra ID P1. Because plan contents and names can change, confirm the current Microsoft Defender service description and the entitlements assigned to your users before buying or enabling controls.
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Microsoft states in that service description that, by default, Defender for Cloud Apps is enabled at the tenant level for all users, while administrators can scope deployments to licensed users. Tenant-level availability should not be mistaken for a license entitlement for every user or a reason to skip license checks.
How does Conditional Access App Control work?
Conditional Access App Control uses Microsoft Entra integration to route sessions for selected sanctioned SaaS apps through Defender for Cloud Apps as a proxy. Administrators can then apply configured session policies—for example, allowing access to organizational data only from managed devices or monitoring activity from unmanaged devices before enforcing stricter controls. Microsoft’s deployment guidance describes this as a policy-scoped setup; unsanctioned apps outside the policy are not automatically covered by those session controls.
How should an IT team evaluate it?
Start with the coverage you need and the data path you can support. A useful evaluation should answer these questions before rollout:
- Coverage: Do you need Office 365-only visibility or discovery and controls across multiple SaaS providers?
- Discovery reach: Will endpoint telemetry from managed Windows devices meet the requirement, or do you need firewall/proxy logs to include other network-connected devices?
- Data controls: Are the SaaS apps you rely on connected and supported for file scanning, sensitivity labels, download restrictions, or collaborator actions?
- App governance: Which OAuth apps can reach organizational data, and who will review permissions, usage, and credentials?
- Identity and licensing: Are the relevant users licensed, and is Microsoft Entra ID P1 available where Conditional Access App Control is required?
- Operations: How will Defender alerts and activity data reach the team’s investigation workflow? Microsoft documents integration with Microsoft Sentinel and generic SIEM systems.
For a pilot, select a defined user group, choose the discovery source, connect the required SaaS apps, and test each intended policy against its target scenarios before broad enforcement. The product’s feature descriptions do not establish comparative superiority, detection accuracy, or value against alternatives; those questions require separate evaluation using your own requirements and evidence.
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