Atlassian Guard Detect is the newly integrated threat detection feature within Atlassian Guard Premium that officially replaces Atlassian Beacon, bringing real-time security monitoring and intelligent alerts directly into your admin environment. In our article, we walk you through exactly what Guard Detect does, where to find it, what changed from Beacon, and what you need to update as an admin to stay fully operational.
This is not just a simple rename, it represents a fundamental shift in how Atlassian approaches threat detection and security monitoring across its cloud platform.
In our video, Marvin from our technical support team breaks down everything you need to know about Guard Detect in just a few minutes:
What Is Atlassian Guard Detect?
Atlassian has officially rebranded Beacon and integrated it into Atlassian Guard Premium as Guard Detect. If you were part of the information security beta, you may already be familiar with this feature under its earlier iterations. However, this rebrand is a clear signal from Atlassian that threat detection is now a first-class feature in their security portfolio – not just an add-on or experimental tool.
Guard Detect is an intelligent threat detection system that continuously monitors your Atlassian organization. Rather than requiring admins to manually sift through logs and audit trails, it provides proactive, automated detection with actionable alerts that surface the issues that matter most.
What Types of Threats Does Guard Detect Identify?
Guard Detect is designed to catch a wide range of security risks and anomalies across your Atlassian environment. Specifically, it detects:
- Data exfiltration attempts: when content is shared externally in an unusual or unauthorized way
- Unusual user activity: behavior that deviates from normal patterns, indicating a potentially compromised account
- Changes to access rights or API keys: unauthorized modifications that could open security vulnerabilities
- Sensitive data exposure: instances where passwords, financial information, or other confidential data appears in Confluence pages or Jira issues
Instead of relying solely on manual log reviews, Guard Detect gives you intelligent detection paired with alerts you can act on immediately. This significantly reduces the time it takes to identify and respond to potential security incidents.
Where to Find Guard Detect in Your Atlassian Admin Environment
There are multiple ways to access Guard Detect. The most direct method is to navigate to detect.atlassian.com, which will automatically forward you to your instance. Alternatively, within your Atlassian administration panel, you can click on the site or app switcher – the boxes icon used to switch between sites or apps, and locate the Guard Detect application from there.
Once you’re in, you’ll also notice that if you navigate to the Atlassian Guard overview and switch to the Premium tier view, Guard Detect is clearly listed as a premium feature. It’s no longer buried or secondary; it’s front and center as part of the Guard Premium experience.
The Guard Detect Dashboard
The first thing you’ll see when you access Guard Detect is the dashboard. This is your central hub for monitoring security alerts across your organization. The dashboard provides a clear, filterable view of all detected threats and alerts.
Alerts on the dashboard can be filtered by several criteria, including:
- Detection type: to narrow down specific categories of threats
- Alert status: to see open, resolved, or in-progress items
- Date range: to focus on specific time periods
- App or site: to isolate alerts from particular Atlassian products or instances
These filtering capabilities mean you always have a clear picture of your organization’s security posture without having to scroll through every log entry manually. This is a significant improvement for admins managing large or complex Atlassian environments.
Important Update for Admins: Scripts and Exports Referencing Beacon
One of the most critical takeaways from this update, especially for admins who were already using Beacon – is that the Beacon terminology has been fully replaced by Guard Detect across all Atlassian systems. This includes exports, audit logs, and any external reports generated from your Atlassian environment.
As demonstrated in our video, when you export user data or run processes that generate reports, the column that previously referenced “Beacon” now reads “Guard Detect.” This change has immediate practical implications.
If you have custom scripts that process Atlassian CSV exports – for example, scripts handling audit logs, external user reports, or compliance documentation – you need to check whether they reference “Beacon” anywhere. Those references will no longer match the updated export format, which could cause your scripts to break or produce incomplete results. Updating these references to “Guard Detect” should be a priority task for any admin affected by this change.
Guard Detect vs. Beacon: What Actually Changed?
If you were already using Beacon, the good news is that you’re effectively already using Guard Detect, just under a new name and with an expanded feature set. The core functionality of threat detection and monitoring carries over, but the integration into Atlassian Guard Premium means it now benefits from a more cohesive security framework.
Here’s a summary of the key differences:
- Branding and naming: Beacon is fully retired as a term; Guard Detect is the official replacement
- Integration: Guard Detect is now a native part of Atlassian Guard Premium, not a standalone or semi-separate feature
- Expanded feature set: the rebranding comes with enhancements to detection capabilities and dashboard functionality
- Export and log references: all system outputs now use “Guard Detect” instead of “Beacon”
Why This Matters for Your Organization
Security in Atlassian Cloud is no longer just about setting the right permissions and access controls. It’s about having real-time visibility into what’s happening across your environment and being able to detect threats proactively before they escalate into incidents.
Guard Detect helps you achieve this by enabling your team to:
- Identify risks faster through automated, continuous monitoring
- Reduce manual log analysis by surfacing only the alerts that matter
- Improve your overall security posture with a centralized detection dashboard
For organizations that take cloud security seriously, Guard Detect represents a meaningful step forward. It transforms Atlassian Guard Premium from a set of administrative controls into a comprehensive security monitoring solution.
How to Get Started with Guard Detect
Getting started is straightforward. You can access Guard Detect directly by visiting detect.atlassian.com, which will route you to your organization’s instance. From there, you’ll land on the Guard Detect dashboard where you can begin reviewing alerts, configuring filters, and monitoring your environment in real time.
If you’re currently on Atlassian Guard Premium, Guard Detect is already available to you. If you previously used Beacon, your existing detection setup has carried over, just make sure to update any scripts or processes that reference the old Beacon naming convention to avoid disruptions.
