Nigerian CommunicationWeek

Microsoft fortifies security, brings AI to the masses @ Ignite 2018

Ugo Onwuaso Ugo Onwuaso

Microsoft Corp, at Ignite 2018 underscored the need for increased IT security and released an array of security programs and products.

Among them are Microsoft Secure Score, a dynamic report card that assesses Microsoft 365 customer environments and makes recommendations that can reduce breaches up to thirty fold, and Microsoft Authenticator, which helps make secure sign-on easier for workers with features like password-free login.

The company also advanced its commitment to democratize access to AI through a new AI for Humanitarian Action program aimed at harnessing the power of AI for disaster recovery, helping children, protecting refugees and displaced people, and promoting respect for human rights.

 

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft said, “In this era of the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge, businesses in every industry are looking for a trusted partner to help them transform.

. “We are pushing the bounds in AI, edge computing and IoT, while providing end-to-end security to empower every organization to build its own digital capability and thrive in this new era.”

 

According to the company, Cybersecurity is the central challenge of the digital age. Every day organizations take precious time and resources away from their core business mission to defend against, and recover from, cyberattacks.

 

They operate dozens of complex, disconnected tools, yet the gaps between those tools remain and threats get through.

 

As the nature of the threats and the profile of the attackers continue to evolve, security teams struggle to keep up, and skilled expertise is scarce.

 

Microsoft is uniquely positioned to help, and today the company shared ways it is empowering IT to unlock the security capabilities of the intelligent cloud.

To tip the scales in the cyberwar, Microsoft has a unique focus on three things: security operations at global scale that work not just for us but also for our customers, enterprise-class technology, and broad cybersecurity partnerships for a heterogeneous world.

 

Security operations at a global scale that work for our customers: At Microsoft, more than 3,500 full-time security professionals work with leading AI tools to analyze more than 6.5 trillion global signals each day.

The company’s global security infrastructure protects customers by securing datacenters, running a Cyber Defense Operations Center, hacking its own defenses (red-teaming), hunting down attackers, and blocking more than 5 billion distinct malware threats each month.

Just recently, Microsoft’s cloud-based machine learning models detected — with only 200 discrete targets — a stealthy and highly targeted attack aimed at small businesses across the United States. The company neutralized the threat, called Ursnif, in seconds.

Also, Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit, focused on advanced disruption and deterrence, has worked with global law enforcement agencies to take down 18 criminal bot-nets and rescue nearly 500 million devices from secret bot-net control.

 

Enterprise-class security technology: Microsoft is using the cloud to secure organizations broadly with new security features in its products that protect against a wide range of threats, secure the network and protect sensitive information:

 

 

 

Cybersecurity partnerships in a heterogeneous world: It takes more than the right technology and operations to make the world as secure as possible. It takes work to strengthen the broad ecosystem, bring the entire tech sector together, and partner directly with governments and democratic institutions. In close partnership with others, Microsoft recently made significant advances in this work.

 

Microsoft is working with tech companies, policymakers and institutions critical to the democratic process on strategies to protect our midterm elections. The company’s Defending Democracy program aims to protect political campaigns from hacking, increase security of the electoral process, defend against disinformation and bring greater transparency to political advertising online. Part of this program is the AccountGuard initiative, which provides state-of-the-art cybersecurity protection at no extra cost to all candidates and campaign offices at the federal, state and local level, and other organizations critical to the democratic process.

In the first month, Microsoft has onboarded more than 30 organizations into AccountGuard, focusing initially on large national party operations, and the initiative now includes committees representing both major U.S. parties, as well as high-profile campaigns and think tanks. Microsoft is developing plans to extend the Defending Democracy program to democracies around the world.

 

Since the establishment of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, an agreement to bring the entire technology sector together in defending all customers everywhere from malicious attacks by cybercriminal enterprises and nation-states, the group has nearly doubled in size. With 27 new organizations joining from around the globe since its launch, including Panasonic, Swisscom and Rockwell Automation, to name a few, the total number of signatories is now 61 companies, strengthening the broad ecosystem needed to keep the world secure.

 

In partnership with security teams across the company, the DCU has also combatted nation-state hackers. Using innovative legal approaches 12 times in two years, the DCU has shut down 84 fake websites often used in phishing attacks that were set up by a group known as Strontium, which is widely associated with the Russian government.

 

Around the world, the company is advocating for effective public policy by governments including stronger international rules, accountability through attribution, and the adoption of concepts like the Digital Geneva Convention.

 

Data and AI transform the intelligent enterprise

Furthering the company’s commitment to democratizing access to AI and ensuring that the benefits are widely shared, the company today launched AI for Humanitarian Action, a new $40-million, five-year program aimed at harnessing the power of AI to aid efforts such as disaster recovery, protecting children, refugees, and displaced people, and promoting respect for human rights. The company will do this by working deeply with select nongovernmental and

humanitarian organizations through grants, investment of technology and shared expertise. This is the third program in Microsoft’s AI for Good initiative, launched in July 2017.

Microsoft is also continuing to deliver AI-infused products and services that will be available to billions of people through the next generation of applications, experiences and personal assistants. Today, Microsoft is announcing new products and services to help enterprises get the most value from their data:

 

And Reserved Capacity reduces barriers to entry, enabling customers to get up to 65 percent off the cost of their Cosmos DB usage.

Microsoft also unveiled new AI experiences in Microsoft 365 that make it easier for people to find information, create content, analyze data and collaborate with others:

 

 

 

Capturing value from IoT and edge computing

Computing is becoming more ubiquitous and simultaneously more distributed across the edge — connected devices, endpoints and geographies. With the power of AI, these devices can predict, learn, speak and more. This is all driving the next wave of innovation at the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge. Microsoft is delivering powerful IoT and edge solutions that unlock new opportunities for customers to bring cloud intelligence to new scenarios and to areas where connectivity is unreliable:

 

 

Exit mobile version