Microsoft Defender for Identity vs NewCore for ITDR
SHORT ANSWER
Editorial assessment · Desk research from public vendor material · Reviewed 2026-09-29
Scores by criterion
Monitors on-premises Active Directory, Entra ID and other identity providers such as Okta, with sensors on identity infrastructure.
NewCore does not publish a detection catalogue. It is an identity provider with protection built into sign-in, not a monitoring product for other directories.
Source: NewCore: Identity Security
Higher score: Microsoft Defender for Identity
Positioned for detection, investigation and response; inline blocking at authentication is not described on the overview page.
Phishing-resistant sign-in with passkeys and Visual MFA, and unconfigured access defaults to a high-strength baseline.
Source: NewCore: Identity Security
Higher score: NewCore
Covers compromised credentials and lateral movement stages; token forging is not singled out on the overview page.
Secure Split Key needs two key shares to sign a token, so a stolen password and one-time code are not enough to forge one; the launch release names Golden SAML, AiTM, session theft and token replay.
Source: NewCore: Identity Security · NewCore launch release (PR Newswire)
Higher score: NewCore
Correlates identity alerts into incidents in the Microsoft Defender portal with remediation actions.
Can end a session, agent or human path without disabling the account. No wider response or recovery tooling is published.
Source: NewCore: Agent Guardian
Higher score: Microsoft Defender for Identity
Posture assessments through Microsoft Secure Score and lateral movement path analysis.
Scores each authenticator 1 to 10 against NIST levels; the discovery graph shows access paths.
Source: NewCore: Identity Security · NewCore: Identity Discovery
Higher score: Microsoft Defender for Identity
Long-running Microsoft product; licensing is not stated on the overview page.
Launched June 2026; no pricing or named customers published.
Higher score: Microsoft Defender for Identity
Weighted total
Microsoft Defender for Identity 7.0 / 10 · NewCore 5.9 / 10
Higher score: Microsoft Defender for Identity
Where each one scores higher
Microsoft Defender for Identity scores higher on
- detection breadth (9 vs 3)
- response and recovery (7 vs 5)
- posture and attack paths (8 vs 6)
- maturity and buying clarity (7 vs 4)
NewCore scores higher on
- stopping attacks at sign-in (5 vs 8)
- token and session attacks (6 vs 9)
Pricing, side by side
Microsoft Defender for Identity
Licensing is not stated on the overview page.
Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender for Identity
As published on 2026-09-29.
Which should you choose?
Choose Microsoft Defender for Identity if detection breadth and posture and attack paths matter most. It scores 9 and 8 on them. Monitors on-premises Active Directory, Entra ID and other identity providers such as Okta, with sensors on identity infrastructure.
Choose NewCore if token and session attacks and stopping attacks at sign-in matter most. It scores 9 and 8 on them. Secure Split Key needs two key shares to sign a token, so a stolen password and one-time code are not enough to forge one; the launch release names Golden SAML, AiTM, session theft and token replay.
Questions
Which scores higher overall, Microsoft Defender for Identity or NewCore?
On our weights for ITDR, Microsoft Defender for Identity scores 7.0 / 10 and NewCore 5.9 / 10. Totals are the weighted average of six criterion scores; the weights are listed on the ITDR page.
Where does Microsoft Defender for Identity score higher than NewCore?
On detection breadth; response and recovery; posture and attack paths; and maturity and buying clarity.
Where does NewCore score higher than Microsoft Defender for Identity?
On stopping attacks at sign-in; and token and session attacks.
Related
Sources
- Microsoft Learn: Defender for Identity: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-for-identity/what-is
- NewCore: Identity Security: https://newcore.com/platform/identity-security
- NewCore launch release (PR Newswire): https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/newcore-emerges-from-stealth-with-66m-to-rebuild-workforce-identity-for-the-agentic-era-302799643.html
- NewCore: Agent Guardian: https://newcore.com/platform/agent-guardian
- NewCore: Identity Discovery: https://newcore.com/platform/identity-discovery
- NewCore home page: https://newcore.com/