Which feature of Microsoft Defender for Identity should you recommend for monitoring accounts potentially being exploited by attackers?

The feature that effectively monitors accounts potentially being exploited by attackers is user behavior analytics. This capability leverages machine learning algorithms to establish a baseline of normal user behaviors and can detect deviations from this norm. By analyzing various factors, such as log-in patterns, access levels, and usage anomalies, user behavior analytics can identify abnormal activities that may indicate account compromise or exploitation attempts.

This proactive approach allows organizations to stay one step ahead of potential threats, promoting quicker responses to incidents and minimizing the impact of compromised accounts. It enhances overall security posture by focusing on user behavior, which is often a key indicator of credential theft or insider threats.

Custom user tags, identity protection audits, and security alerts are supportive features in the overall identity protection strategy but do not provide the same level of directly monitoring account exploitation as user behavior analytics does. Custom user tags allow for better categorization but do not inherently provide insights into exploitation risks. Identity protection audits review past activities but are not real-time monitoring tools. Security alerts generate notifications based on set rules but lack the proactive detection capabilities that user behavior analytics offers.