Microsoft Benchmark Ranks KnowBe4 Defend #1 for Threat Uplift Across Every Reported Metric on Microsoft Defender
(MENAFN- Active DMC) KnowBe4 Defend, the inbound email security product in the KnowBe4 Platform, ranked #1 across every uplift metric in Microsoft’s latest email security benchmarking report. Based on real-world customer telemetry, the results show Defend catching 3.7x more dangerous emails that slipped past Microsoft Defender than the average Integrated Cloud Email Security (ICES) add-on.
As attackers shift to payload-free threats such as executive impersonation, Business Email Compromise (BEC), and AI-generated spear phishing, baseline filtering leaves gaps. These attacks contain no malicious links or attachments, so stopping them takes behavioral AI. Microsoft’s fifth consecutive benchmark analyzed live production tenants from May to July 2026 and measured seven leading ICES add-ons running directly on top of Microsoft Defender, giving security leaders verifiable data instead of synthetic lab results.
Defend works alongside Microsoft Defender through native Graph APIs or pre-delivery inline deployment. Defender handles the high-volume perimeter baseline, while Defend targets the high-risk blind spots native filters cannot solve alone, including conversational anomalies and threats that move from email to Microsoft Teams. KnowBe4 is a charter member of the Microsoft ICES Vendor Ecosystem.
Key Benchmark Findings for KnowBe4 Defend
●Dangerous Email Defender Missed: Defend caught 1.11% of dangerous emails that Microsoft Defender missed, versus a 0.30% field average, or 3.7x more than the average add-on.
●Post-Delivery Clean-Up: In mailboxes protected by Defend, KnowBe4 was directly responsible for identifying and pulling back 16.92% of all post-delivery malicious removals, more than double the 8.00% field average.
●Lowest Overlap with Microsoft Defender: At 0.65%, Defend recorded the lowest overlap of all seven vendors, showing it finds net-new, evasive threats rather than duplicating what Defender already flags.
●Productivity Uplift: Defend ranked #1 in Spam Uplift (1.88%) and Promotional/Graymail Cleanup (65.24%), reclaiming time for admins and end users.
Find more information about Defend here and read Microsoft’s findings on the Microsoft Security Blog. On October 28, Stuart Clark, SVP of Product at KnowBe4, will break down the benchmark findings and demonstrate
As attackers shift to payload-free threats such as executive impersonation, Business Email Compromise (BEC), and AI-generated spear phishing, baseline filtering leaves gaps. These attacks contain no malicious links or attachments, so stopping them takes behavioral AI. Microsoft’s fifth consecutive benchmark analyzed live production tenants from May to July 2026 and measured seven leading ICES add-ons running directly on top of Microsoft Defender, giving security leaders verifiable data instead of synthetic lab results.
Defend works alongside Microsoft Defender through native Graph APIs or pre-delivery inline deployment. Defender handles the high-volume perimeter baseline, while Defend targets the high-risk blind spots native filters cannot solve alone, including conversational anomalies and threats that move from email to Microsoft Teams. KnowBe4 is a charter member of the Microsoft ICES Vendor Ecosystem.
Key Benchmark Findings for KnowBe4 Defend
●Dangerous Email Defender Missed: Defend caught 1.11% of dangerous emails that Microsoft Defender missed, versus a 0.30% field average, or 3.7x more than the average add-on.
●Post-Delivery Clean-Up: In mailboxes protected by Defend, KnowBe4 was directly responsible for identifying and pulling back 16.92% of all post-delivery malicious removals, more than double the 8.00% field average.
●Lowest Overlap with Microsoft Defender: At 0.65%, Defend recorded the lowest overlap of all seven vendors, showing it finds net-new, evasive threats rather than duplicating what Defender already flags.
●Productivity Uplift: Defend ranked #1 in Spam Uplift (1.88%) and Promotional/Graymail Cleanup (65.24%), reclaiming time for admins and end users.
Find more information about Defend here and read Microsoft’s findings on the Microsoft Security Blog. On October 28, Stuart Clark, SVP of Product at KnowBe4, will break down the benchmark findings and demonstrate
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