Microsoft Defender for Office 365: New MessageContents table in Advanced Hunting for Microsoft Teams messages

What and why

We're introducing a new MessageContents table in Advanced Hunting for Microsoft Teams messages. This new table helps security operations teams investigate threats in Teams by providing access to Teams message snippets and associated message metadata during threat investigations.

This capability enhances security investigations by allowing authorized analysts to correlate Teams message activity with other security signals available in Advanced Hunting, helping organizations detect, investigate, and respond to threats more effectively.

Rollout schedule

• General Availability (Worldwide): Beginning in late September 2026 and expected to complete by mid-October 2026

Impact on your organization

Who is affected

• Security administrators and security analysts who use Microsoft Defender XDR Advanced Hunting
• Organizations that investigate security incidents involving Microsoft Teams communications

Platforms and services

• Microsoft Defender XDR
• Microsoft Defender for Office 365
• Microsoft Teams
• Advanced Hunting

What will happen

• A new MessageContents table will become available in Advanced Hunting.
• Authorized users will be able to query Teams message snippets and related message metadata.
• Analysts can correlate Teams message information with other Advanced Hunting data sources during investigations.
• The table can contain Teams message content, so access is permission controlled.
• Users must have the required Advanced Hunting and message preview permissions to access and query the table. Users without the required permissions will not have access to the table.
• Users without the required permissions will not have access to the table.
• The table currently supports Teams messages available through the underlying Teams message metadata source, including messages containing URLs and federated messages.

Action required and recommendations

No action is required if your organization does not plan to use this capability.

If you plan to use this feature:

• Review existing role assignments and determine which security administrators and analysts should have access to Teams message content for security investigations.
• Review the required Advanced Hunting and message preview permissions before providing access.
• Consider updating internal security investigation procedures and documentation.

Learn more

• Advanced hunting overview in Microsoft Defender XDR - Microsoft Defender XDR | Microsoft Learn

Compliance considerations