Anti-Virus and Threat Protection Service Transition to Microsoft Defender Antivirus

Enhancing Schools Cybersecurity with Microsoft Defender Antivirus

As part of our commitment to improving cybersecurity across Lancashire schools, Lancashire County Council Education Digital Services is announcing a planned transition from Sophos Central and Intercept X to Microsoft Defender Antivirus.

Microsoft Defender Antivirus is a built-in antivirus solution for Windows that provides real-time protection against software threats like viruses, malware, and spyware across email, applications, the cloud, and the web. It is already integrated into standard Windows operating systems and offers a robust and efficient security solution without the need for additional installations.

This will be effective from 1 April 2026 and Sophos Central and Intercept X will no longer be included in the Education Digital Services Broadband and Online Services Bundle.

Schools that subscribe to Sophos Central and Intercept X Advanced and schools that receive this service through our Education Digital Services Broadband and Online Services Bundle will need to transition to Microsoft Defender Antivirus before the deadline of 31 March 2026.

What are the benefits? 

• Real-time protection against viruses, malware, spyware, and other threats.
• Cloud-delivered protection for faster detection of emerging threats.
• Behaviour-based, heuristic detection to identify suspicious activity.
• Automatic updates for threat definitions and engine improvements.
• Ransomware protection for your most valuable folders

Contact us

If you have any questions regarding this project, please don’t hesitate to contact us by emailing: educationprojects@lancashire.gov.uk with the Subject: Anti-Virus and Threat Protection Service Transition.

Alternatively, please call 0300 123 6797 (Option2) and a member of the project team will provide support.