135 access to real-time intelligence that will help them detect and respond to threats at machine speed and scale.” Building an AI-based cyber shield Microsoft and its network of security partners offer the “whole gamut of physical and digital security solutions,” says Arthur. “We make significant investments in cybersecurity technology every year. We’re simplifying zero trust and building intelligent end-to-end security solutions that make it as quick, easy and costeffective as possible for governments to defend their entire digital estate.” Microsoft is also prioritising investments in technologies like AI to augment its existing security products and advance its threat detection capabilities. Its more than 10,000 cybersecurity experts already use AI to analyse over 65 trillion threat signals per day and track the activities of more than 300 unique threat actors worldwide. This enables it to block 4,000 identity attacks per second and shut down more than 100,000 domains used by cybercriminals. In November 2023, Microsoft introduced the Secure Future Initiative with the aim of leveraging AI-based cyber defence techniques to “bring together every part of Microsoft to advance cybersecurity protection”. It is also using generative AI to develop new innovations like Security Copilot. Built on Microsoft Azure, Security Copilot integrates with the entire Microsoft Security stack and uses generative AI, a large language model and a security-specific model to rapidly detect and respond to thousands of threat signals. It also leverages Microsoft’s global threat intelligence insights to predict a threat actor’s next move and deliver step-by-step guidance to help cyber defenders resolve security incidents within minutes rather than hours or days. In addition, Security Copilot can answer both basic and complex security-related questions from users, which will empower governments to close the current cybersecurity talent gap. “Security Copilot brings high-level cybersecurity knowledge and skills to the masses at the click of a button,” says Arthur. “It makes analysts more effective and responsive, allowing them to catch threats that would otherwise be missed and disrupt attacks at machine speed. It’s a game-changing solution for cybersecurity professionals.” According to Arthur, Microsoft’s successful efforts to safeguard Ukraine against Russian government-backed cyber warfare showcase the power AI and hyperscale cloud have to revolutionise cyber defence. As part of its military operations against Ukraine, and just before the Russian military crossed the Ukrainian border on 24 February 2022, Russia launched a Foxblade PUBLIC SECTOR Microsoft's security products helped City of Saint John in New Brunswick, Canada, to rapidly recover its critical infrastructure systems following a large-scale cyberattack Photo: iStock/DenisTangneyJr
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