SharePoint Graph API Deep Dive, A Quick Look at Purview Data Security Investigations
+Building Security Workflows using Jupyter Notebooks with MVP David Sass
Hello fellow PowerShell Engineers and welcome to our NEW time and day of the week! As I said before, this aligns well with some of my other favorite newsletters like Entra.News - Your weekly dose of Microsoft Entra and Intune Newsletter. It frankly just makes sense as well given the flow of blogs and videos.
I had mentioned the numbers last week - PowerShell.News received 20k views last year and PowerShellEngineer (my YouTube channel) received 286,000 views.
SharePoint Graph API Deep Dive — Automate Your Sites!
Adeel Automates has a comprehensive video on leveraging the Microsoft Graph API with PowerShell to automate SharePoint operations. He guides viewers through navigating site hierarchies, managing files and lists, and developing a script to securely grant “Site Selected” permissions to service principals.
Active Directory minimization case studies
Microsoft has an interesting article about strategically reducing dependencies on traditional on-premises Active Directory by migrating identity and device management to cloud-based platforms. The piece details real-world success stories from organizations like Chugai Pharmaceutical and NTT Communications, demonstrating how they leveraged tools like Windows Autopilot and Microsoft Intune to enhance security and streamline IT operations.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/architecture/road-to-the-cloud-ad-minimization
PowerShell to Distinguished Engineer with Ryan Spletzer. The PowerShell Podcast E208
PDQ’s PowerShell Podcast, hosted by Andrew Pla, has an inspiring video on Ryan Spletzer’s journey from IT support to Distinguished Engineer. Ryan explains how deep-diving into PowerShell automation unlocked opportunities in cloud infrastructure and AI at Autodesk. He argues that “getting your hands dirty” and finding good mentors are more valuable than a perfect pedigree for reaching high-level individual contributor roles.
New Microsoft Purview Roles in Entra
Andres Bohren has an informative blog post on three new Entra admin roles designed to strengthen security when Microsoft Purview interacts with services like Exchange and Teams. He explains that the new roles - Purview Workload Content Reader, Writer, and Administrator - must be managed via Purview role assignments, as any direct assignment in Entra will be automatically overwritten.
https://blog.icewolf.ch/archive/2026/01/08/new-microsoft-purview-roles-in-entra/
Building Security Workflows using Jupyter Notebooks with MVP David Sass
PDQ’s Andrew Pla has an insightful video on integrating PowerShell with Jupyter Notebooks for security operations. David Sass demonstrate how to use PowerShell workbooks inside Jupyter to design and execute real-world security workflows effectively.
More Fancy PowerShell Formatting Options
Jeff Hicks has a helpful post on customizing PowerShell output using the FineFormat module. He demonstrates how the Format-Fine command can clean up display results by filtering out empty properties or isolating specific values, making data much easier to consume.
Ugur Koc has an exciting post announcing the launch of AwesomeIntune.com. He describes the new site as a “clean, community-driven hub” that consolidates scattered Intune scripts, reporting tools, and packaging utilities into one location, featuring contributions from numerous experts to simplify the lives of Intune administrators.
Enhanced Windows Event Log Viewer
Christopher Munn has a valuable repository sharing a PowerShell-based GUI tool designed to streamline Windows Event Log investigations. He details how the tool categorizes critical events, like security threats and server health, and allows for advanced filtering, remote monitoring, and easy data export to CSV or Excel.
https://github.com/ChrisMunnPS/EventIDChecker
A Quick Look at Purview Data Security Investigations
Tony Redmond has a great article on the new Microsoft Purview Data Security Investigations (DSI) solution, which uses generative AI to analyze security incidents. He highlights a new “purge mitigation action” for removing malicious data but warns that the solution’s consumption-based pricing model can lead to surprising Azure costs if not monitored carefully.
https://office365itpros.com/2026/01/06/data-security-investigation/
Upcoming Events
PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026 April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA - The premier PowerShell community event returns this spring!
https://www.powershellsummit.org/
PSConfEU 2026 June 1-4, 2026 in Wiesbaden, Germany - Call for speakers is now closed.