Tech giant Microsoft has launched three brand new cybersecurity services for businesses in an effort to provide more support in the battle against ransomware and other online threats.
The three new services will be placed under an umbrella service category that also includes Microsoft’s pre-existing security services such as Microsoft Security Services for Incident Response.
The decision comes after increased demand for cybersecurity tools like antivirus software and services due to the worrying rise of ransomware, malware, and other online threats, and the fact that there are various businesses that either don’t have a security operations center or need extra support to deal with cyber attacks.
Microsoft Launches New Cybersecurity Services
The three services – which were launched under the umbrella service category of “Microsoft Security Experts” – are human-led services designed to facilitate “secure, compliant, and productive outcomes” for businesses that use them.
In a blog post announcing the launch of the new services penned by Vasu Jakkal, Microsoft Corporate Vice President (Security, Compliance, Identity, and Management), one of the key reasons cited for launching the new service are the challenges that many businesses face while trying to create and maintain a functioning security team.
Now, instead, companies will have access to Microsoft’s teams of experts across three new services:
- Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting is for companies who have a working SOC (security operations center) but want additional support from Microsoft and access to Microsoft Defender’s team that proactively hunts threats.
- Microsoft Defender Experts for XDR is for businesses that need to enlarge and expand their security operations center.
- Microsoft Security Services for Enterprise, on the other hand, is for large businesses that essentially want Microsoft to provide services such as onboarding assistance, modernizing cybersecurity protocols, and handling incident response.
Existing security services provided by Microsoft – such as Microsoft Security Services for Incident Response & Microsoft Security Services for Modernisation – will become part of the Microsoft Security Experts category.
A Difficult Landscape for Businesses
Microsoft’s decision to launch these new services has been spurred on by the worrying rise in cyberattacks that have taken place over the last three to four years.
According to Microsoft, the company blocked 9.6 billion malware attacks and over 35.7 billion phishing attempts.
On top of this, “Microsoft Security is actively tracking more than 35 ransomware families and 250 unique threat actors,” and also “blocks more than 900 brute force password theft attempts every second.”
The company’s security products – which now rake in $15 billion a year in sales – are growing faster than any other product category developed by the business, despite the success of video conferencing and business communications platform Microsoft Teams during the pandemic.
This isn’t that surprising, however, considering cybercrime is set to cost businesses $10.5 trillion globally by 2025.
What Else Can You Do to Protect Your Company?
Ensuring you have appropriate cybersecurity tools to shield yourself from online threats is one of the most important parts of operating a business in 2022. Antivirus software with built-in ransomware protection, for instance, is a vital tool that every business should be using.
Training is equally as important as software – having staff that can spot threats that may appear in their email inbox, and know how to respond if a ransomware attack takes place, play a central role in shielding your business from harm.
Microsoft’s new security services may be precisely what you’re looking for if your business needs a human-led, hands-on approach and access to Microsoft’s vast bank of data on cyberthreats and attackers – a resource it seems likely will become increasingly valuable as attacks continue.
