Microsoft Teams Boosts Security to Shield Users From Phishing Attacks
REDMOND, WA – Microsoft is rolling out a new security feature for Teams designed to proactively warn users about malicious links shared in chats and during video calls. The update, integrated with Microsoft Defender for Office 365, aims to protect the platform’s over 320 million monthly active users from increasingly complex phishing, spam, and malware attacks.
The new functionality flags potentially harmful URLs in both internal and external conversations, operating similarly to spam filters in Gmail or SMS text message filtering apps. Microsoft will display a warning banner on messages containing URLs identified as unsafe, mirroring the alert system already in place for Outlook. These links are assessed using Microsoft Defender’s threat intelligence and AI-based detection, working in conjunction with existing security tools like Safe Links and zero-Trust Access Policy (ZAP).
The system operates in five key steps: First, a warning appears in the chat when a flagged URL is detected. Second, senders are notified if a link they shared is flagged, with options to edit or delete the message. Third,URLs are continuously re-evaluated even after delivery. Fourth, if a link is determined to be malicious within 48 hours of delivery, a warning banner is retroactively added to the message. this ensures previously delivered messages containing harmful links are also flagged.
A public preview of the update will begin for enterprise customers in early September 2025, with worldwide general availability expected by mid-November 2025. The feature will be available across desktop, web, Android, and iOS versions of Microsoft Teams.
