Microsoft Makes a Yearly Commitment
to Security Research & Development
Each time we’ve been faced with [security loss of trust], we’ve come together collectively as individuals, companies, organizations and governments to respond. To use the very technology to be able to respond to the challenge… We’re taking a principled approach with strong commitments to make sure that our customers can trust the digital technology they use. Satya Nadella
At times, with the news of yet another major data breech, we begin to wonder who to trust! It is easy to focus on the “newsworthy negatives” and miss the forest for these scraggly trees. 300 billion user authentications take place each month. 1 billion Windows devices updated and 200 billion emails analyzed for spam and malware. More positive!
Microsoft Chief Executive Officer, Satya Nadella is as concerned about the 160 million data records that were compromised in 2015 as you are. As a result he is investing more than $1 billion in security research and development every year.
Windows 10 holds claim to being the most secure operating system Microsoft offers. But much more needs to be done for Microsoft to regain market confidence that will translate to a boost in sales and productivity.
Nadella is seeking to develop a strategy that will stop the flow of private data into the hands of hackers. This would be a major step as the vast majority of PCs run Microsoft Windows systems.
To support the claim – not to mention the expenditure of money – Microsoft will need to develop an intelligence network that detects, protects and responds to threats within the community of other security industry players. What does Nadella plan?
Microsoft will primarily establish a response site staffed with inter-departmental employees analyzing data around the clock. From this multi-perspective platform they will respond in real-time to threats. They also have created support team, Enterprise Cybersecurity Group, to help customers’ keep data safe.
Another strategic element of Microsoft’s endeavor is to coordinate security through the various products they provide. By offering security features through Windows 10, Azure and Office 365, they will integrate the overall effort. These three products together define the Microsoft Security Platform.
To explain the fifteen facets listed above as an integrated platform, Satya Nadella says,
We don’t think of security as being a separate piece of technology. It has to be core to the operational systems that you use, where your data resides, where your most critical applications usage is.