Microsoft taking security head on to help businesses manage threats

Microsoft today announced a range of solutions and services designed to protect businesses from cloud based threats. It's the first time a company of Microsoft's scale has launched a series of security services that encompass the needs of businesses and individuals.

These new solutions build on Microsoft’s longstanding approach to delivering innovation that customers and partners can build upon to strengthen the broader ecosystem against cyberattacks from the cloud to the edge.

“As last year’s devastating cyberattacks demonstrated, security threats are evolving and becoming even more serious,” said Brad Smith, president of Microsoft. “The tech sector’s innovations need to accelerate to outpace security threats. Today’s steps bring important security advances not just to the cloud, but to the billions of new devices that are working on the edge of the world’s computer networks.”

Protecting Connected devices and IoT with Azure Sphere

Microsoft is harnessing the power of the intelligent cloud to address emerging threats against a new class of connected devices, those relying on a chip the size of a thumbnail called a microcontroller unit (MCU). MCU-powered devices are already the most populous area of computing with roughly 9 billion new devices every year. They are found in everything from toys and household appliances to industrial equipment — and attackers are starting to target them. As we move into more autn=onomous appliances, connected homes and smart living solutions, the danger of having loopholes in these many devices grows exponentially.

Microsoft is introducing Azure Sphere, the industry’s first holistic platform for creating highly secured, connected MCU devices on the intelligent edge. Featuring an entirely new class of MCUs with more than five times the power of legacy MCUs, an OS custom built for IoT security, and a turnkey cloud security service that guards every Azure Sphere device. With Azure Sphere, Microsoft extends the boundaries of the intelligent edge, to power and secure an entirely new category of devices.

“As our homes become more connected, we place significant value on the security of connected devices, so we can focus on continuing to deliver an exceptional customer experience,” said Brian Jones, director of Product Strategy and Marketing at Sub-Zero Group Inc. “Microsoft’s approach with Azure Sphere is unique in that it addresses security holistically at every layer.”

Microsoft also announced Microsoft 365 Intelligent Security Solutions. As security threats become more complex, companies are increasingly finding that the intelligence and threat protection tools they need to remain a step ahead of attackers are in the cloud. Today, Microsoft introduced several new intelligent security features for its Microsoft 365 commercial cloud offering designed to help IT and security professionals simplify how they manage security across their enterprises: