**Microsoft** has unveiled a significant update for **Teams**, empowering administrators to prevent unapproved third-party bots from entering meetings. This new policy, initially hinted at in a March **Microsoft 365** roadmap entry, is now available across **Windows**, **macOS**, **Android**, and **iOS** platforms for standard multi-tenant and **GCC** cloud environments. ### Enhanced Control Over Meeting Participants The core of this update is to block potentially malicious applications controlled by threat actors, as well as unapproved third-party bots used for tasks like note-taking or transcription. By placing these bots in a lobby and clearly identifying them, the policy ensures that meeting organizers are fully aware of and can approve every non-human participant. "The new policy in the Teams Admin Center, Manage external bots and their access to meetings, can be assigned to individual users or specific groups," **Microsoft** stated. "When enabled, Teams automatically detects potential bots, places them in the meeting lobby, clearly identifies them, and prompts organizers to confirm admission. Even in meetings where organizers allow participants to bypass the lobby, bots identified through this policy will continue to require approval before joining."  *Teams meeting suspected threats (Microsoft)* ### Future Security Enhancements on the Horizon **Microsoft** plans to introduce further administrative controls to strengthen **Teams** security. These upcoming features include: * Allow lists for pre-approved bots. * Policies to entirely block external bots. * Admin reports and audit logs detailing bot detection and presence. * More granular controls tailored to diverse security requirements. ### Broader Security Initiatives for Teams This bot management policy is part of a larger push by **Microsoft** to enhance the security posture of **Teams**. In December, administrators will gain the ability to block external **Teams** users via the **Defender** portal, a crucial step to prevent cybercrime groups, including ransomware gangs like **Black Basta**, from leveraging the platform for social engineering attacks. Earlier this year, **Teams** also rolled out fraud-protection features for calls, alerting users to external callers impersonating trusted organizations. A call reporting feature, launched in March, allows users to flag suspicious calls as potential phishing or scam attempts. These measures come as **Microsoft** has noted an increasing trend of attackers abusing external **Teams** collaboration for initial access and lateral movement within enterprise networks. Threat actors often impersonate IT or helpdesk staff in cross-tenant chats to trick employees into granting remote access or divulging sensitive information.