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Sourcepass Center of Excellence for Microsoft

Demystifying Microsoft

A Tech News , News and Technology podcast

#101 in Tech News · 🇵🇭 #129 in Tech News · 🇿🇦
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About the show

Demystifying Microsoft is a podcast for IT leaders who need clarity and confidence in the Microsoft ecosystem. Each week, the Sourcepass Center of Excellence for Microsoft breaks down what is most relevant for IT teams today, including: Microsoft 365 security, identity, Copilot, Azure, Microsoft licensing, cost optimization and more. The focus is on solving the Microsoft challenges businesses encounter every day. Hosted by Nathan Taylor, the show features conversations with Microsoft experts, industry peers, and customers navigating real environments. Episodes cover what has changed, why it matters, what can be safely ignored, and where IT leaders should focus next. The goal is simple: help IT leaders make informed, defensible decisions as Microsoft continues to evolve. New episodes released weekly. Podcast website: www.sourcepassmcoe.com

Newest episodes

What the SkyKick Breach Teaches Us about Security Basics in the AI Era

34 min

Third-party enterprise apps with broad access to Microsoft 365 data have become a serious supply chain risk, and AI-driven vulnerability discovery is raising the stakes. Host Nathan Taylor and Senior Director of Security and Compliance at Pax8, Matt Lee, unpack the SkyKick Cloud Backup and the vulnpocalypse behind surging patch volumes. They make the case for asset inventory, enterprise app consent controls, and attack surface reduction as the strongest defenses available to IT leaders.

When Attackers Get Past MFA: Identity Threat Detection and Response for Microsoft 365

26 min

Even a hardened Microsoft 365 tenant can be compromised through token theft and adversary-in-the-middle phishing. In this episode of Demystifying Microsoft, host Nathan Taylor of the Sourcepass Center of Excellence for Microsoft gives a hands-on demo of Petra Security Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR). He walks through a real six-week business email compromise, explains how residential proxies help attackers blend in, and shows how Petra detected and remediated exposure from the SkyKick supply chain attack.

Why you Need to Back Up your Microsoft 365 Data Before It's Too Late with Steve Brining

24 min

In this episode of Demystifying Microsoft, host Nathan Taylor of the Sourcepass Center of Excellence for Microsoft is joined by Steve Brining, Cybersecurity Evangelist at Acronis, to discuss why backing up your Microsoft 365 data is critical, how retention policies and backups serve different purposes, and the key strategies to protect your Exchange, Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint data from deletion, corruption, and insider threats.

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All episodes

What the SkyKick Breach Teaches Us about Security Basics in the AI Era

34 min

Third-party enterprise apps with broad access to Microsoft 365 data have become a serious supply chain risk, and AI-driven vulnerability discovery is raising the stakes. Host Nathan Taylor and Senior Director of Security and Compliance at Pax8, Matt Lee, unpack the SkyKick Cloud Backup and the vulnpocalypse behind surging patch volumes. They make the case for asset inventory, enterprise app consent controls, and attack surface reduction as the strongest defenses available to IT leaders.

When Attackers Get Past MFA: Identity Threat Detection and Response for Microsoft 365

26 min

Even a hardened Microsoft 365 tenant can be compromised through token theft and adversary-in-the-middle phishing. In this episode of Demystifying Microsoft, host Nathan Taylor of the Sourcepass Center of Excellence for Microsoft gives a hands-on demo of Petra Security Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR). He walks through a real six-week business email compromise, explains how residential proxies help attackers blend in, and shows how Petra detected and remediated exposure from the SkyKick supply chain attack.

Why you Need to Back Up your Microsoft 365 Data Before It's Too Late with Steve Brining

24 min

In this episode of Demystifying Microsoft, host Nathan Taylor of the Sourcepass Center of Excellence for Microsoft is joined by Steve Brining, Cybersecurity Evangelist at Acronis, to discuss why backing up your Microsoft 365 data is critical, how retention policies and backups serve different purposes, and the key strategies to protect your Exchange, Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint data from deletion, corruption, and insider threats.

Is your Small Business Getting Enough from Business Premium in 2026?

18 min

Business email compromise is accelerating, and threat actors are moving faster than most security teams can monitor. Host Nathan Taylor and Sourcepass Client Success Manager Tracy Harper break down the attack techniques driving the surge, including device code flow phishing and adversary-in-the-middle token theft, and explain how Microsoft 365 tenant hardening and identity threat detection and response (ITDR) close the after-hours gap. They also cover retiring on-premises Active Directory, modernizing legacy SMTP relays, and why Microsoft 365 Copilot Business is the smarter AI investment for organizations under 300 users.

Move Microsoft Entra Users to Passkeys Before SMS MFA Ends

14 min

Attackers have become very good at getting past traditional multifactor authentication. SMS codes and voice calls are now regular targets of SIM swapping, social engineering, and session interception. Microsoft is responding by retiring Microsoft-provided SMS and voice MFA in Microsoft Entra ID and making passkeys the default authentication experience across Microsoft 365, Azure, and connected business applications. In this solo episode of Demystifying Microsoft, host Austin Kelly of the Sourcepass Center of Excellence for Microsoft covers the milestones IT leaders need on their calendars, how passkeys use cryptographic, device-bound authentication to remove whole categories of phishing attacks, and how identity threat detection and response (ITDR) adds containment and remediation inside your Microsoft 365 environment, alongside Microsoft’s native controls rather than in place of them.

How to Detect a Compromised Microsoft 365 Account with Nathan Ostrowski from Petra

29 min

Business email compromise is now the leading cause of cyber-related financial loss, and the signals most IT teams rely on to catch it no longer hold up. Host Nathan Taylor and Petra Security Co-founder and COO Nathan Ostrowski explain how residential proxies, phishing toolkits, and SEO phishing let attackers log in from your users’ own cities. They cover why location-based conditional access falls short, how behavioral identity threat detection and response (ITDR) catches Microsoft 365 account takeover in under a minute, and which tenant hardening steps reduce your exposure.

Cowork, Scout (Autopilot), and Copilot Credits: Making Sense of Microsoft’s AI Stack

30 min

Navigate the Microsoft AI ecosystem with host Nathan Taylor and Microsoft's Ricky Lawson as they break down Microsoft Cowork, Microsoft Scout (now Autopilot), and M365 Copilot agents. Learn how the July 1st shift to Copilot credits impacts your AI strategy, discover effective Copilot FinOps practices, and determine when to leverage autonomous Cowork orchestration versus lightweight in-app agents across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

How to Control Microsoft Copilot Credits and Agent Costs

27 min

AI is moving faster than most budgets can keep up with. In this episode of Demystifying Microsoft, host Nathan Taylor sits down with Graham Rosenberg, Director of Intelligence and Automation at Sourcepass, to unpack one of the most urgent conversations in the Microsoft ecosystem today: AI FinOps for Microsoft Copilot.

How to Detect and Block Device Code Flow in Entra Before it Costs you a Tenant

20 min

Device code flow attacks are exploding across Microsoft 365 environments in 2025, and they bypass many of the security controls organizations rely on, including FIDO2 keys, MFA, and conditional access. In this episode of Demystifying Microsoft, host Nathan Taylor breaks down exactly how these attacks work, why threat actor groups like Storm-2372 are leveraging phishing-as-a-service kits like Octopi365, FlowerStorm, and EvilTokens to industrialize the attack, as well as how to detect and block device code phishing in your own tenant.

The Future of Meetings is Here: Teams, Loop, Facilitator & Copilot

20 min

Taking charge of your meeting summary notes isn’t the only thing Copilot is built for. It is capable of handling all other meeting processes starting from configuration all the way to referencing. In this episode of Demystifying Microsoft, Nathan Taylor, SVP Global Microsoft Practice Leader at Sourcepass, explores how Microsoft 365 Copilot can transform meetings from passive conversations into actionable insights, using tools like Facilitator, Loop and WorkIQ. These features help to capture context, automate tasks and make information searchable. Nathan also shares how he uses these capabilities in his own day-to-day work to stay on top of meetings, customers and projects. Tune in to learn how to optimize Microsoft Copilot for your meetings and organization.

Should you Buy the Copilot Add-On or the Business Premium Bundle?

14 min

Microsoft 365 licensing for small and mid-sized businesses just got more interesting, yet confusing. In this episode of Demystifying Microsoft, host Austin Kelly from Sourcepass MCOE breaks down two of the most compelling SMB offerings in the Microsoft ecosystem right now: Microsoft 365 Business Standard with the Copilot add-on and the Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot bundle. If you’re evaluating Copilot pricing, Microsoft 365 security, endpoint management, or SMB licensing strategy, this episode reframes the conversation from “what does it cost” to “what is an hour of my employee’s time worth?”

Run Secure Remote Desktops On your Own Hardware Without a VPN with Denis Vozian

20 min

Azure Virtual Desktop no longer has to mean running the session hosts in Azure. In this episode of Demystifying Microsoft, Nathan Taylor speaks with Azure Cloud Engineer Denis Vozian about AVD Hybrid: running virtual desktops on existing on-premises infrastructure while retaining Microsoft-brokered access, Entra ID controls and the familiar AVD user experience. They also get into Azure Local, Arc-enabled deployment, infrastructure-as-code and the current limitations IT leaders should know before treating AVD Hybrid as production-ready everywhere.

Why Shadow AI Creates Insider Risk in Microsoft 365 ft. Gabriel Friedlander

32 min

In the age of AI, the “insider” is no longer human, and that changes the insider-threat model. Majorly. In this episode of Demystifying Microsoft, Nathan Taylor speaks with Gabriel Friedlander, Founder and CEO of Wizer and former founder of ObserveIT, about shadow AI, identity-less AI workers, the limits of traditional access monitoring, and why human oversight becomes even more important as organizations give AI systems greater autonomy.

5 Microsoft Defender Features that Help Stop Attacks Faster ft. Austin Kelly

13 min

Microsoft Defender is no longer just an endpoint antivirus. In this episode of Demystifying Microsoft, Austin Kelly from Sourcepass MCOE explains five Microsoft Defender features that help organizations stop attacks faster. He breaks down Attack Disruption, Unified XDR, email and collaboration protection, Exposure Management and data protection. He also covers where Microsoft Security Copilot fits in and how AI can help reduce investigation time for lean security teams without replacing human judgment. Tune in to learn how Microsoft Defender helps connect alerts, prioritize real risk, protect Microsoft 365 collaboration tools and respond faster when attacks are already in motion

How to Move from GoDaddy to Microsoft 365 Without a Full Migration

25 min

Moving away from GoDaddy Microsoft 365 sounds like a migration project. In reality, it’s a defederation one. In this episode of Demystifying Microsoft, Lindsay Cowan, Senior Sales and Business Development Manager at the Sourcepass Center of Excellence for Microsoft makes one thing clear: removing GoDaddy’s authentication and management layer while leaving the underlying Microsoft tenant, mailboxes and data in place is the real task at hand. Nathan and Lindsay also break down when organizations tend to outgrow GoDaddy, how to sequence a defederation without creating licensing problems and why security hardening after the change matters just as much as the defederation itself.

What's New in Microsoft 365 Business Premium for 2026

10 min

Microsoft has been adding features to Business Premium that used to be reserved for enterprise customers. Learn about the recent updates, from the 100 GB mailbox increase to advanced security add-ons like Defender and Purview suites. Your organization should review your licensing because if you haven’t in the last year, you are likely missing out on tools that are already available to you.

5 Reasons Employees Ignore Microsoft 365 Copilot and How to Fix It with Steve Adams

33 min

Successful AI adoption doesn’t just happen after assigning a license. In most cases, the biggest hurdle for organizations is a cultural resistance to change rather than a technical limitation. Nathan Taylor and Steve Adams talk about managing Copilot for Microsoft 365 credits, the value of using the right model for the right job, and how to build a governance framework that serves the majority of your workforce today.

What Happens When an AI Agent Goes Rogue in your Microsoft Tenant with Chance Weaver

20 min

AI implementation moves faster than any previous tech cycle, leaving many IT leaders in the noise. Chance Weaver from Pax8 joins Nathan Taylor and talks about going beyond basic prompts to building autonomous agents that solve specific operational blockers. You will hear about the transition from responsive Copilot tools to automated "Chief of Staff" agents and the impending arrival of a token-based economy. This conversation details managing agent identity with Agent365 while balancing the costs of consumption-based AI.

How to Roll Out Microsoft Copilot Without Wasting the Investment

27 min

AI agents, Copilot for Microsoft 365 365 365, and Microsoft 365 productivity tools offer significant profitability gains for organizations if deployed correctly. Brittney Saultman from The Partner Masters joins Nathan Taylor to clarify the confusion surrounding the agent store. They discuss why starting with identifying business improvement opportunities rather than technology shopping leads to better results. You will hear how Copilot for Microsoft 365 has improved over the last few months, the benefits of the Frontier program, and how to maintain security while using third-party models.

The Threats Microsoft Defender Sees Before your EDR with Nick Ross

28 min

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint security and EDR telemetry provide a secondary protection layer. Nathan Taylor and Nick Ross analyze why running Microsoft security in passive mode optimizes your Business Premium licensing. They explain how to use Endpoint DLP and threat vulnerability management alongside tools like SentinelOne or CrowdStrike. This setup feeds richer data into Security Copilot and simplifies your incident response strategy while maintaining your trusted third party security vendor.

The GCC High Trap that Kills DoD Contracts

41 min

Microsoft government clouds like GCC High and Azure Gov provide CMMC and ITAR compliance for the Defense Industrial Base through US data residency. Nathan Taylor and Lindsay Cowan from Sourcepass MCOE clarify that these environments are built for rigorous compliance guarantees rather than just basic security features. You will hear about the logistical hurdles of eligibility, the financial implications of annual licensing, and why a full migration is necessary for those chasing specific regulatory standards.

The Costly Mistake Companies Make When Rolling Out Agentic AI in Microsoft 365

33 min

Organizations can now use AI to build high-performing cultures by focusing on skills and belonging rather than just administrative compliance. Nathan Taylor from Sourcepass MCOE welcomes Robin Daniels, Chief Business Officer at Zensai, to analyze the future of human success within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. They examine how agentic AI moves beyond basic automation to proactively support employee growth and motivation. The conversation highlights the merit in ditching traditional HR tools and adopting integrated systems that prioritize people while driving business outcomes.

10 Conditional Access Mistakes Leaving your Microsoft 365 Tenant Exposed

40 min

Conditional Access serves as the firewall for identity in a modern organization. Nathan Taylor explains the essential policies every Microsoft tenant needs to block credential stuffing and token stealing. From phishing-resistant MFA to blocking device code flow, this session details the specific rules that secure your environment. You will see how to implement these layers without locking yourself out. It is a baseline for any security conscious IT leader managing Microsoft 365 identities.

Why Microsoft Copilot Keeps Disappointing your Team with Graham Rosenberg

42 min

Microsoft Copilot is evolving faster than most organizations can track. In this episode, Nathan Taylor and Graham Rosenberg explore the Copilot Frontier program, a gateway to experimental features like Claude Opus in Excel and advanced AI agents. They discuss moving past basic chatbots toward agentic workflows that handle complex tasks like ticket routing and inbox triaging. Learn why ongoing education and a champion strategy are vital for turning these AI tools into a true competitive advantage.

How Attackers Bypass Microsoft 365 MFA Without Stealing Passwords

15 min

Device Code Flow attacks, Microsoft 365 security, Conditional Access policies, and OAuth abuse are threatening identity authentication in the cloud right now. As you know, traditional MFA isn’t always enough to stop sophisticated phishing that exploits legitimate pathways. In this episode, Nathan Taylor of Sourcepass MCOE breaks down how threat actors have hit 340+ organizations by turning security controls into credential laundering services. You will learn how to audit your tenant and deploy a blocking policy that secures your environment without breaking your conference room setups.

Why Hackers Hate Passkeys: Microsoft FIDO2 Explained with Dom Kirby

39 min

FIDO2 and passkeys are redefining identity security by moving beyond vulnerable shared secrets. In this episode, Nathan Taylor of Sourcepass MCOE and Dom Kirby of Pax8 explain why traditional MFA methods like SMS and TOTP are failing against modern adversary-in-the-middle attacks. They touch upon hardware-backed cryptography and provide a roadmap for IT leaders to deploy phishing-resistant authentication across their organizations without overwhelming users.

Microsoft Entra: The Security Advantage Most Teams Overlook

31 min

Microsoft Entra Suite provides a comprehensive Zero Trust identity solution, including Entra ID Governance, Protection, Private Access, and Internet Access. Nathan Taylor details the evolution of identity security within the Microsoft ecosystem. This episode breaks down the five core pillars of the Entra Suite and explains how these tools unify access control across users and devices. Discover how to move beyond legacy VPNs while preparing your infrastructure for the rise of AI agents. It is a technical look at hardening your enterprise against modern credential-based threats.

Navigating SQL Server Licensing and Windows Server Strategies

39 min

As Microsoft moves away from legacy Open License programs toward the Cloud Service Provider (CSP) model, IT leaders must understand how to optimize their spend. This episode talks about the transition to subscription-based licensing, the financial impact of Azure Hybrid Use Benefit, and how tools like Azure Arc and Azure Local provide flexibility for on-premises and hybrid environments. Join hosts Nathan Taylor and Lindsay Cowan from Sourcepass MCOE as they untangle the complexities of Windows Server and SQL Server licensing.

Mastering Microsoft Migrations in M&A

22 min

Learn why most organizations underestimate the complexity of Microsoft tenant-to-tenant migrations, where the real risks lie beyond email and data, and how better planning across identity, devices, and licensing can ensure a smoother, more secure M&A integration.

Microsoft 365 Security Simplified: 8 Must‑Do Tenant Hardening Moves to Cut Breach Risk

23 min

Nathan Taylor and Tracy Harper examine the rising tide of sophisticated phishing attacks, including the "direct send" exploit currently targeting tenants. They break down the Defender ecosystem from Endpoint to Office 365, explaining how Business Premium serves as a foundation for identity protection. This conversation provides a pragmatic roadmap for moving beyond basic MFA to a fully hardened and assessed environment.

What Microsoft Just Changed and Why It Impacts your IT Roadmap

27 min

A fast, practical breakdown of Microsoft’s latest changes across AI, security, and licensing. This episode focuses on how new announcements like E7, Copilot advancements, and licensing changes will impact cost, control, and day-to-day operations and where you need to pay attention right now.

Avoiding a Surprise Bill for Expired Microsoft Subscriptions

24 min

Nathan Taylor and Austin Kelly examine the transition from free grace periods to Microsoft’s new Extended Service Terms (EST), which introduce a 23% premium on expired subscriptions, turning a previously free window into a prorated paid extension. The conversation covers critical enforcement dates, the financial impact on CSP and MCA customers, and strategic moves across SKUs such as Office 365 E3 and Business Premium. They provide a framework for using EST as a deliberate tool rather than an accidental expense.

How Does E7 Change the Way You Plan for Microsoft AI Costs?

39 min

Mike Hughes joins host Nathan Taylor to examine the strategy behind Microsoft’s E7 license and why it is designed for organizations operating at enterprise scale with growing AI demands. As many IT leaders are already evaluating, the rise of AI consumption and agentic AI systems is beginning to reshape licensing models, infrastructure planning, and workforce dynamics. The conversation explores what this shift means for cost optimization, governance, security, and the operational realities of integrating AI agents into modern enterprise environments where they increasingly function as digital teammates rather than standalone tools.

How to Choose Between Business Premium, E3, and E5

41 min

Join hosts Nathan Taylor and Austin Kelly from Sourcepass MCOE as they dive into the critical decisions behind Microsoft licensing. They’ll uncover why default licensing choices might not be the best fit, share strategies to optimize costs without compromising security, and break down how to choose between Business Premium, E3, and E5 based on your unique business needs.

The Microsoft 365 Security Mistakes That Lead to Breaches

28 min

Business email compromise is one of the biggest threats to Microsoft 365 tenants—and most environments are more exposed than they think. Nathan Taylor unpacks how these attacks work, where the real gaps are, and how to fix them fast. From MFA to email and identity protection, get a 7 step approach to locking down your tenant.

Where Microsoft 365 E7 Fits in a Security First AI Strategy

25 min

Nathan Taylor and Lindsay Cowan from Sourcepass Center of Excellence for Microsoft examine Microsoft’s E7 announcement and what it means for organizations already navigating AI adoption. As many IT leaders are experiencing, the challenge is shifting from capability to control. The conversation focuses on what’s included in E7, how it builds on existing licensing, and why governance is becoming critical as AI agents take on more responsibility across enterprise environments.

Prevent Business Account Compromise in Microsoft 365

17 min

Compromised Microsoft 365 accounts are increasing, and many organizations don’t clearly understand how or why. Nathan Taylor breaks down what’s actually happening, from phishing and token theft to gaps in identity controls. He explains how business email compromise works, why it’s accelerating, and what follows once access is gained, including the financial and operational impact most teams underestimate.

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