Office 365 E-Mail and Document Filtering

Two Microsoft-hosted services can filter e-mail for malware, spam, and other threats before they even reach an organization’s mail system. Exchange Online Protection filters inbound and outbound e-mail for known threats, while Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection builds on Exchange Online Protection, adds protection against previously unknown threats, and is extending some features beyond e-mail. Organizations will want to evaluate the services and their security, cost, and performance trade-offs, particularly when considering Office 365 or Microsoft 365 purchases that include these services.

Exchange Online Protection

Exchange Online Protection is a Microsoft-hosted online service that filters incoming and outgoing e-mail for malware and spam and performs other filtering and routing tasks. Exchange Online Protection can block unwanted mail before it reaches an organization’s e-mail system, reducing risk and performance impact. It is a built-in feature of Exchange Online in Office 365 Enterprise suites. Exchange Online Protection can also be used for on-premises installations of Exchange Server and other mail systems.