Microsoft is overhauling the cybersecurity of its cloud services with AI power

Microsoft has announced plans to enter the next stage of defense against cyber threats, and unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence will be the driving power behind the new changes.

In a message addressing the company’s engineers, Microsoft Security EVP Charlie Bell referred to daily headlines surrounding “major industrial disruption, attacks on medical services, and other critical aspects of our daily lives.”

Reflecting on how Redmond should “anticipate and adapt” to novel and sophisticated threats, the decision comes jointly from Bell, CEO Satya Nadella, Experiences and Devices EVP Rajesh Jha, and Cloud and AI EVP Scott Guthrie.

Microsoft will respond to more threats with AI

Microsoft will begin by revamping its Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) by using CI/CD to “continuously integrate protections against emerging patterns as we code, test, deploy, and operate.”

Redmond also committed to using more memory-safe languages, like C#, Python, Java, and Rust, which it hopes will create a more secure environment right down to the building blocks of its products and services.

For IT admins, Microsoft will also make things a lot simpler by improving default security settings.

The company said that thanks to its history with AI, automation, and monitoring, it will target a reduction of the time it takes to mitigate cloud vulnerabilities by 50%.

In a separate commentary, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith commended Ukraine’s cyber defense, which has been made possible by deep collaborations between governments and tech firms, and made even stronger by AI.

Smith hinted that AI could be the solution to a global shortage of skilled cybersecurity workers.

Microsoft has already made its Security Copilot available to eligible customers, which is powered by a large language model, a secondary security-focused model, and the company’s own insights.