Endpoint Security and Defender Hardening
Microsoft Defender is installed. That does not mean it is configured.
Most small businesses have Defender running and almost none have configured it beyond factory defaults. Attack surface reduction rules are off by default. Default Defender is significantly less effective than properly configured Defender.
Scope
What endpoint hardening includes
- Microsoft Defender configuration review and baseline implementation
- Attack surface reduction rules deployed and tuned for your environment
- Tamper protection and real-time protection verification
- Endpoint detection and response configuration for Defender for Business tenants
- Huntress MDR deployment for organizations needing managed detection
- Policy documentation so future changes are intentional
Managed detection
Huntress-powered protection
For small businesses that need more than baseline Defender, NextLayerSec deploys and supports Huntress managed detection and response.
Huntress was built specifically for small business environments. It runs alongside Defender, provides continuous threat hunting by human security analysts, and catches what automated tools miss. We handle deployment, tuning, and the response workflow.
Where to next
- Not sure you need this yet? The free domain check reads your public DNS in about ten seconds and tells you what the rest of the internet can already see.
- Most of this work is covered by Security Essentials, at $395 onboarding then $199 a month for teams up to 20.
- Want the whole picture first? The assessment covers identity, email, endpoints and backups, and everything else starts from what it finds.
Better security starts with knowing what is missing.
Start with a focused assessment. Fix the highest-priority gaps. Add the right layers over time.