Microsoft is doubling the attendee limit for Teams Town hall events, pushing the cap from 20,000 to a staggering 50,000 participants. This major update will be available starting December 2024 on web, desktop, and Mac, giving organizations the ability to host significantly larger virtual gatherings.
However, in exchange for this extended capacity, certain interactive features will be restricted when attendance exceeds 20,000 to maintain the platform’s stability and performance. The company writes in its Microsoft 365 Roadmap:
“Organizers of town hall instances can now reach wider audiences in a single event with an expansion to a maximum of 50,000 simultaneous attendees. This increase serves as a significant jump from the previous attendee cap of 20,000 for organizers with a Teams Premium license. The quality and stability of town halls up to this new limit will remain constant, providing high-quality and reliable content to participants.
For events with more than 20,000 concurrent attendees, some interactivity features are disabled for all attendees. Organizations can get support for audiences up to 50,000 concurrent attendees by reaching out to the Microsoft 365 Live Event Assistance Program (LEAP) for assistance (Microsoft 365 Live Event Assistance Program – Microsoft Adoption). This feature is available for town hall organizers that have an active Teams Premium license.”
Delayed Retirement of Teams Live Events
A few days ago, Microsoft announced that it would delay the previously planned retirement of Teams Live Events, initially set for September 2024. After listening to customer feedback, the company decided to keep Live Events operational longer, allowing for a smoother transition to Town hall. Microsoft stated, “We’ve listened to our customers and understand how important it is to ensure a seamless shift to Town hall.” The extended timeline offers organizations the flexibility to adapt to Town hall at their own pace, without disrupting current workflows.
The Town hall feature, launched in September 2023, was created to support one-to-many communications, ideal for webinars and corporate-wide presentations. The continued availability of Teams Live Events indicates Microsoft’s willingness to accommodate user needs and prevent abrupt disruptions.
Redesigned User Experience in Microsoft Teams
Beyond the attendee cap increase, Microsoft has been working on revamping the entire Teams experience. In late October 2024, a significant overhaul of the Teams interface was rolled out. The redesign introduces a unified Chat view that combines direct messages, channels, and meeting notifications into one streamlined feed. This update aims to simplify communication management by reducing the need for switching tabs, a common complaint among heavy Teams users.
New filtering options, such as “Unread,” “Chat,” and “Channels,” allow users to better manage message overload. The platform has also added focused navigation tools like @mentions, which aggregate all tagged messages in a single view. This helps ensure that users don’t miss important updates. Meanwhile, a reorganized Favorites section enables pinning up to 50 conversations, helping users prioritize essential discussions in busy work environments.
Security Risks: Black Basta’s Phishing Tactics on Teams
Not all news surrounding Microsoft Teams is positive. Just a week ago, cybersecurity firm ReliaQuest reported a sophisticated phishing campaign targeting Teams users. The ransomware group Black Basta has shifted tactics, using Microsoft Teams as a platform to trick employees into installing malware. This attack method involves creating external accounts through Microsoft Entra ID, a cloud-based identity and access management system that manages access to resources across an organization. The attackers then impersonate IT support staff, using realistic tenant names and display formatting tricks to gain credibility.
One of their most alarming strategies involves sending QR codes embedded in Teams chats. When scanned, these codes direct employees to phishing websites designed to steal credentials. The group’s tactics represent a more refined approach compared to traditional email phishing, making them harder to detect and more dangerous for companies.
QR Code Phishing Surges Across Microsoft 365
This method of attack isn’t isolated to Teams. In August, Netskope Threat Labs reported a 2,000% increase in QR code phishing scams targeting Microsoft Sway, another part of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. These scams bypass typical text-based security filters, using QR codes that lead to malicious sites. Users are often tricked into scanning these codes on less secure mobile devices, where credential-stealing attempts are harder to block. Cybersecurity experts warn that these embedded links are often disguised to resemble legitimate company URLs, making detection difficult for even the most cautious users.
Microsoft’s AI-Powered Defense Measures
Microsoft is actively fighting back against these threats. One approach involves deploying honeypots in Azure environments, designed to divert attackers into false systems. These decoy networks serve two purposes: they slow down cybercriminals and provide Microsoft with valuable insights into the methods being used. However, vulnerabilities remain. In August, a critical flaw in Microsoft 365’s anti-phishing feature was discovered, allowing attackers to bypass alerts for first-time contacts. The company has acknowledged this security gap but has yet to announce a permanent fix.
The urgency of bolstering cybersecurity measures has led Microsoft to engage in public-private collaborations, including the Secure Future Initiative, which seeks to improve defenses against cyber threats through information sharing. The rise of AI-enhanced phishing attacks has made these partnerships more crucial than ever.
Recent Microsoft Teams Updates
In August Microsoft rolled out a unified Teams app that simplifies account management by merging work, personal, and educational profiles. Previously, users had to juggle multiple Teams installations to handle different accounts. This new version, available on Windows and Mac, lets users seamlessly switch between profiles and join meetings as guests without the need for a sign-in. The update also aims to make managing notifications easier by clarifying which account they come from.
Microsoft initially previewed the unified app in March as part of Windows 11’s 24H2 test build. The integration addresses long-standing user complaints, offering a smoother and more cohesive experience across devices.
Copilot Speaker Recognition and AI Tools
In July, Microsoft intrduced Copilot speaker recognition for Teams Rooms on Windows. This technology uses voice analysis to create digital profiles for meeting participants, tagging individual contributions in transcriptions and minimizing background noise. Copilot’s voice recognition eliminates the need for specialized hardware, making it a practical solution for businesses.
By mid-2025, Microsoft plans to extend this feature to Teams desktop apps and Android devices, broadening its reach. Speaker recognition technology will help streamline meetings by providing more accurate records of who said what, enhancing productivity in virtual settings.
Back in June, Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant in Teams gained the Custom Tone feature, a tool that allows users to adjust the tone and style of their messages. This feature goes beyond basic rephrasing, offering personalized options to make texts more persuasive, informative, or concise. Users can also use the tool for on-the-fly translations, making cross-cultural communication more efficient. For those needing guidance, Microsoft has set up a Copilot Lab page with prompt suggestions to maximize the feature’s effectiveness.
Last Updated on November 7, 2024 2:13 pm CET
