ASM cuts security investigation time 68% with Microsoft Security Copilot

Overview

Semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASM integrated Microsoft Security Copilot across its Microsoft Security stack to defend against state-sponsored threats and protect intellectual property across manufacturing sites in Asia, Europe, and North America. Security Copilot lets analysts query in plain language and aggregate signals from multiple tools; ASM's analysts now save about 337 hours weekly on investigations and cut a typical incident triage (e.g. a suspected laptop compromise) from about 25 minutes to 8 minutes (a 68% reduction). The company has redeployed roughly 20% of its security operations staff toward strategic areas such as governance, risk, and compliance, separately freeing senior analysts to focus on threat hunting and playbook development.

The challenge

ASM faces constant threats from opportunistic attackers and highly sophisticated, state-sponsored adversaries seeking its high-value semiconductor intellectual property, with each of its manufacturing sites across Asia, Europe and North America a potential target, guarding against insider risk, espionage, and advanced phishing campaigns across a geographically distributed and technically complex attack surface.

The solution

ASM integrated Microsoft Security Copilot across its Microsoft Security stack, letting analysts query in plain language, aggregate signals from multiple tools, and receive actionable next steps within seconds in a single pane of glass instead of jumping between consoles. By codifying institutional knowledge into Security Copilot workflows, junior analysts can learn investigation techniques in real time while senior analysts focus on threat hunting and playbook development; ASM is also conducting early trials of Security Copilot agents that facilitate telemetry processing across the Microsoft stack for complex workflows like vulnerability management.

Reported business value

ASM saves around 337 hours weekly in investigation time. A suspected laptop compromise that previously took about 25 minutes to resolve was concluded in just eight minutes with Security Copilot, a 68% reduction, and the company redeployed roughly 20% of its security operations staff toward strategic areas such as governance, risk, and compliance, with improved analyst confidence and morale.