Microsoft Announces “Safe Future” Initiative to Strengthen Cybersecurity
Microsoft announced the launch of the “Safe Future” initiative, promising to strengthen the built-in safety of their products and platforms to protect customers from the growing threats of cybersecurity.
Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, acknowledged the increasing speed, scale, and complexity of cyber attacks, stating that they require a new approach.
The company’s latest report reveals the escalating activities of advanced branches of cybercriminals, offering extortion services with data theft or encryption. Over the past year, attempts to extort have risen by over 200%. Furthermore, there has been a significant increase in password-related attacks, with their frequency spiking from about 3 billion to a staggering 30 billion per month compared to the same period last year.
In July of this year, Microsoft experienced a hacker attack where Chinese cybercriminals stole more than 60,000 letters from the US State Department after hacking the Electronic Exchange Email Plateau in May.
The “Safe Future” initiative aims to combat these threats and includes strategies such as the use of automation and artificial intelligence to transform software development, creating a unified identification control system, and accelerating the safety renewal cycle for cloud computing.
Charlie Bell, Executive President of Microsoft, emphasized the company’s commitment to transparency and will inform the public about the main stages of this large-scale initiative.
Brad Smith added that cybersecurity protection should begin with technological companies and the private sector, but governments also need to do more. He highlighted the importance of collective action and the responsibility of both the private and public sector in ensuring a safer future.
“If we can unite, we will be able to take steps that will give the world what it deserves: a safer future,” concluded Smith.