In the Microsoft 365 Defender portal, an incident is a collection of correlated _____________

In the Microsoft 365 Defender portal, an incident is a collection of correlated alerts. An alert represents a potential security issue detected by the Microsoft 365 Defender solutions, such as Microsoft Defender for Endpoint or Microsoft Defender for Office 365. When multiple alerts arise from the same threat or tactic, they are grouped into an incident to provide a comprehensive view of the threat landscape and facilitate coordinated response actions. This allows security teams to prioritize their efforts based on the severity and nature of the alerts, improving the incident response process.

Events refer to individual occurrences within a system, while vulnerabilities pertain to weaknesses that may potentially be exploited by threats; both concepts differ from the aggregation of alerts into incidents. The Microsoft Secure Score improvement actions indicate how organizations can enhance their security posture but are not themselves incidents related to the detection of threats. Therefore, alerts are the critical elements that compile into an incident within the context of Microsoft 365 Defender.