Security Photo courtesy of Microsoft

San Francisco, CA, USA - March 06, 2019

By Ann Johnson
Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Cybersecurity Solutions Group


The power of people. Amplifying our human capacity through technology and community

Cybersecurity is at a turning point.
We are witnessing people being empowered by technology, while at the same time, large gaps are forming that threaten their ability to amplify our human capacity.

In order to grow and maximize our potential, we must acknowledge those gaps and close them by bringing diverse sets of people and data together.


Machine learning, artificial intelligence, and automation hold promise for closing the security gaps, but the battle to solve the critical challenges we face around the world requires much more, including renewed efforts to recruit new cyber security professionals outside of traditional channels, caring for the mental health of these first line defenders, while growing and nurturing the power of everyone, everywhere.

https://www.rsaconference.com/events/us19  

Photo courtesy of RSA 2019

Cybersecurity is about people.

The frontline defenders who stand between the promise of digital transformation and the daily reality of cyber-attacks need our help.

At Microsoft, we’ve made it our mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more.

Today that mission is focused on defenders.

Ann Johnson, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Cybersecurity Solutions Group. Photo courtesy of Microsoft

We are unveiling two new cloud-based technologies in Microsoft Azure Sentinel and Microsoft Threat Experts that empower security operations teams by reducing the noise, false alarms, time consuming tasks and complexity that are weighing them down.

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/videos/introducing-microsoft-azure-sentinel/  

https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2019/02/28/announcing-microsoft-threat-experts/  

Let me start by sharing some insight into the modern defender experience.

Enterprise-class technology. Our cloud-powered, intelligent security solutions help you protect users, data, and everything in between. Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Every day Microsoft security professionals help organizations respond to threats at scale and through targeted incident response.

In one recent example from the latest Security Intelligence Report, Microsoft experts were called in to help several financial services organizations deal with attacks launched by a state-sponsored group that had gained administrative access and executed fraudulent transactions, transferring large sums of cash into foreign bank accounts.

https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2019/02/28/microsoft-security-intelligence-report-volume-24-is-now-available/  

Identity and access management. Secure identities to reach zero trust. Photo courtesy of Microsoft

When the attack group realized they had been detected, they rapidly deployed destructive malware that crippled the customers’ operations for several days.

Microsoft experts were on site within hours, working around the clock with the customers’ security teams to restore normal business operations.

Incidents like this are a reminder that many defenders are overwhelmed by threats and alerts – often spending their days chasing down false alarms instead of investigating and solving complex cases.

Threat protection Help stop damaging attacks with integrated and automated security. Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Compounding the problem is a critical shortage of skilled cyber defenders, with an estimated shortfall of 3.5 million security professionals by 2021.

https://cybersecurityventures.com/jobs/  

With today’s announcements we are unlocking the power of the cloud and AI for security to do what they do best - reason over vast amounts of security signal, spot anomalies and bring global scale to highly trained security professionals.

Security management Strengthen your security posture with insights and guidance. Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Too many enterprises still rely on traditional Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools that are unable to keep pace with the needs of defenders, volume of data or the agility of adversaries.

The cloud enables a new class of intelligent security technologies that reduce complexity and integrate with the platforms and productivity tools you depend on.

Eric Doerr, General Manager, Microsoft Security Response Center. Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Today we are pleased to announce Microsoft Azure Sentinel, the first native SIEM within a major cloud platform.

Azure Sentinel enables you to protect your entire organization by letting you see and stop threats before they cause harm.

With AI on your side it helps reduce noise drastically - we have seen an overall reduction of up to 90 percent in alert fatigue with early adopters.
Because it’s built on Azure you can take advantage of nearly limitless cloud speed and scale and invest your time in security and not servers.

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

In just a few clicks you can bring in your Microsoft Office 365 data for free and combine it with your other security data for analysis.

Azure Sentinel is the product of Microsoft’s close partnership with customers on their journey to digital transformation.

We worked hand in hand with dozens of customers and partners to rearchitect a modern security tool built from the ground up to help defenders do what they do best – solve complex security problems.

Early adopters are finding that Azure Sentinel reduces threat hunting from hours to seconds.

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Corey McGarry, Senior Technical Specialist, Enterprise Operations, Tolko Industries, Ltd., told me,
“After using Microsoft Azure Sentinel for six months, it has become a go-to resource every morning. We get a clear visual of what’s happening across our network without having to check all our systems and dashboards individually. I haven’t seen an offering like Microsoft Azure Sentinel from any other company.”

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Azure Sentinel supports open standards such as Common Event Format (CEF) and broad partner connections, including Microsoft Intelligent Security Association partners such as Check Point, Cisco, F5, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks and Symantec, as well as broader ecosystem partners such as ServiceNow.

You can even bring your own insights and collaborate with a diverse community of defenders.

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Azure Sentinel blends the insights of Microsoft experts and AI with the unique insights and skills of your own in-house defenders and machine learning tools to uncover the most sophisticated attacks before they take root.

Azure Sentinel helps empower SecOps teams to keep their organizations safe by harnessing the power, simplicity and extensibility of Azure to analyze data from Microsoft 365 and security solutions from other vendors.

Azure Sentinel is available in preview today from the Azure portal.

https://azure.microsoft.com/pl-pl/services/azure-sentinel/  

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Our approach to security is not only about applying the cloud and AI to your scale challenges, but also making the security operations experts who defend our cloud available to you.

Therefore, we are pleased to announce Microsoft Threat Experts, a new service within Windows Defender ATP which provides managed hunting to extend the capability of your security operations center team.

https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2019/02/28/announcing-microsoft-threat-experts/  

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Through this service, Microsoft will proactively hunt over your anonymized security data for the most important threats, such as human adversary intrusions, hands-on-keyboard attacks, and advanced attacks like cyberespionage - helping your team prioritize the most important risks and respond quickly.

The service also provides world-class expertise on demand.

With the new “Ask a Threat Expert” button, your security operations team can submit questions directly in the product console.

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

To join the public preview of Microsoft Threat Experts, apply in the Windows Defender ATP settings.

There are no easy answers or silver bullets for security, however the cloud is unlocking new capabilities.

This is why we are putting the cloud and AI to work to extend and empower the defenders whose unique human insights are key to avoiding cyber threats.

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Azure Sentinel and Microsoft Threat Experts are two new capabilities that join our broad portfolio of security solutions across identity, endpoints, data, cloud applications and infrastructure.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/technology  

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

We look forward to showcasing Azure Sentinel and Microsoft Threat Experts at the RSA Conference and encourage you to stop by the Microsoft booth on the main show floor or any of our compelling sessions to learn more.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/events  

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Sources:

Microsoft News Center

https://news.microsoft.com/  

RSA Conference 2019

https://www.rsaconference.com/events/us19  



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