Proofpoint & Microsoft expand collaboration on security AI

Proofpoint has announced an expansion of its global partnership with Microsoft, which will see the use of Microsoft Azure's AI capabilities and cloud infrastructure to support future developments in threat and data protection.

This expanded partnership aims to enhance Proofpoint's human-centric security platform through Azure, resulting in improved threat detection, reduced operational complexity, and increased risk mitigation. This development is part of a strategy to provide stronger threat protection and enhanced data security globally.

Darren Lee, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Threat Protection Group at Proofpoint, stated, "Human-centric security is about enabling the digital workspace. And for most of our enterprise customers, that digital workspace is Microsoft. Built on top of Microsoft Azure, we're delivering advanced, preventive protection for the most important layer in the cybersecurity ecosystem —the human layer. We're equipping organisations with the capabilities they need to reduce human risk at scale and thrive in their digital workspace."

Kathleen Brown, Corporate Vice President, Americas Enterprise at Microsoft, commented, "Microsoft Azure is the cloud platform of choice for security vendors across the industry. Today's announcement is a great example of how Azure provides powerful cloud infrastructure to help Microsoft and our partners meet our mutual customers' evolving security requirements."

Proofpoint will host its human-centric platform on Azure, including Nexus intelligence technologies, by the end of the second quarter of 2025. These technologies utilise AI models and behaviour analysis to preemptively identify and neutralise risks.

With the integration into Microsoft 365 via Azure, Proofpoint's platform aims to offer more robust solutions to manage modern threats while maintaining necessary agility in digital environments. This includes enhanced email security and data protection measures, as well as cost reductions and efficiency improvements.

Enhanced threat defence measures are also planned as part of this collaboration, which will allow for the incorporation of Proofpoint's Nexus threat intelligence into Microsoft Sentinel through Proofpoint Targeted Attack Protection SIEM APIs. This will aid Microsoft Sentinel customers by integrating Proofpoint's threat data, enhancing analytics, and bolstering XDR workflows, ultimately leading to faster incident response and better visibility of emerging threats.

The collaboration provides additional advanced threat protection by extending collaboration with solutions like Proofpoint Adaptive Email DLP with Microsoft Purview and Proofpoint TAP with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, which are already available.