Microsoft announced today the 'Secure Future Initiative,' pledging to improve the built-in security of its products and platforms to better protect customers against escalating cybersecurity threats.
If the company follows up on its promises, this significant commitment will work towards enhanced customer security by addressing immediate concerns and anticipating future challenges posed by increasingly sophisticated attacks worldwide.
Microsoft says this initiative comes in response to the alarming speed and complexity of cyberattacks targeting organizations and individuals globally in recent years.
"In recent months, we've concluded within Microsoft that the increasing speed, scale, and sophistication of cyberattacks call for a new response," said Microsoft President Brad Smith.
"Therefore, we're launching today across the company a new initiative to pursue our next generation of cybersecurity protection – what we're calling our Secure Future Initiative (SFI)."
The company's Digital Crimes Unit
has been monitoring 123 advanced ransomware-as-a-service affiliates, known for encrypting or stealing data to pressure victims into paying ransom demands.
Since September 2022, ransomware attempts have surged by over 200 percent, indicating the intensification of such threats, according to this year's Microsoft Digital Defense Report.
Furthermore, password-related attacks have also spiked dramatically, increasing more than tenfold compared to the corresponding period in 2022. The frequency has soared from approximately 3 billion monthly incidents to an alarming 30 billion, underscoring the escalating threat landscape.
