Microsoft installs cybersecurity quotas for top executives to help remedy its ‘cascade of security failures’
Microsoft holds security as its top priority and has listed new measures to help remedy its cybersecurity issues.
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What you need to know
Over the past few months, Microsoft has been placed under fire for its “cascade of security failures” coupled withanti-competitive cloud business practices. Speculations looming in the air indicate government institutions and large organizations areoverreliant on Microsoft’s cloud services, forcing them to overlook the cybersecurity threats negatively impacting their services.
“Security underpins every layer of the tech stack, and it’s our No. 1 priority,“Microsoft CEO Satya Nadellaindicated during the company’s recentearnings call. “We are doubling down on this very important work, putting security above all else, before all other features and investments.”
Satya Nadella’s plans for its cybersecurity department are seemingly taking shape. In anew blog post, Microsoft highlighted the measures it is taking to bolster security across its services and products, including protecting identities and secrets, monitoring and detecting threats, and more. But perhaps more importantly, the company is working towards accelerating its response time when security issues are flagged and remediation.
Interestingly, Microsoft plans to hold top executives accountable for cybersecurity. Moving forward, a section of their compensation packages will be tied to achieving set security goals.
According to Microsoft’s executive vice president of security, Charlie Bell:
“We will instill accountability by basing part of the compensation of the company’s Senior Leadership Team on our progress in meeting our security plans and milestones. We are also taking major steps to elevate security governance, including several organizational changes and additional oversight, controls, and reporting.”
Hackers are on Microsoft’s case
“Leveraging its dominance in productivity software, Microsoft restricts choice and inflates costs as European customers look to move to the cloud, thus distorting Europe’s digital economy,“indicated trade group CISPEwhile lodging complaints about Microsoft’s anti-competitive cloud business to the EU.
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In the past few months, Microsoft has faced two major cyberattacks. The first incident was instigated by a hacker group, Midnight Blizzard. Its deceitful ploy granted themaccess to confidential emails between Microsoft and its clients.
The second encounter involved the Russian hacker group, Nobelium. Reports indicate the attack was designed toallow the hackers to access emails belonging to top Microsoft executives. It’ll be interesting to see how Microsoft’s newly imposed rules and regulations will impact its cybersecurity department and potentially resolve the security issues riddling the company.
Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry at Windows Central. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. You’ll also catch him occasionally contributing at iMore about Apple and AI. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.
