Charlie Bell’s Post

Thrilled to have Mustafa Suleyman join our team here at Microsoft. I look forward to learning and partnering with him on Copilot for Security and Purview for AI. We live in such an amazing time and, for Security, an incredible moment of inflection (pun intended :-) in our rate of innovation!

Today marks an important step in our mission to solve one of the world's greatest challenges - We are expanding the general availability of Copilot for Security among other security announcements at our second-ever Secure event. As the first generative AI solution for security, I believe organizations of every size will feel the positive impact of this innovation as they navigate the threat landscape. We are truly at an inflection point of AI, and the next 18 months will shape the following 18 years.   Since we announced Copilot last year, we have listened to customers and implemented features that will help defenders upskill and bring the rapid advancements of AI to security. Together, we can continue to achieve our mission of making the world a safer place. To read more about today’s news, check out Dina Bass' story: https://lnkd.in/grfdq5yB

Whether you are a security expert or just a tech-follower, it is invigorating to see the continuous innovations in security and how they have come to be. That is why my colleague Vasu Jakkal has launched her newsletter, “Heart of Security,” where she shares her thoughts on the latest security advancements and what inspires her in this space. I appreciate the title of her newsletter, not only because Vasu is full of heart, but because her newsletter is centered on issues at the heart of security.   In her first edition, Vasu discussed Microsoft’s release of Python Risk Identification Toolkit (PyRIT), an industry first red-teaming tool that will help automate the process of finding security problems and responsible AI failures in generative AI systems. This tool is vital to the AI transformation underway because it will help ensure LLM models are developed responsibly and securely. PyRIT is publicly available for all organizations to use, revolutionizing the number of businesses that can now create responsible AI. Organizations now have access to cutting edge tools and resources at no cost.   I invite you all to subscribe to Vasu’s newsletter and share your thoughts below: https://lnkd.in/g9gvasbr

In collaboration with our partners at OpenAI, last week, Microsoft shared how hackers with ties to foreign governments are exploring AI's potential for use in cyberattacks. Our latest edition of Cyber Signals documents how we detected and disrupted five different hacking groups with ties to China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran that tested the capabilities of OpenAI's technology.   Bad actors are always looking to exploit new technological advancements, and unfortunately, AI is no different. However, this new frontier of technology is also our opportunity to tip the scales in favor of defenders. We must continue to innovate responsibly to defend our AI platforms and customers from cybercrime. As Karen Weise notes in her reporting, "OpenAI’s proprietary systems made it easier to track and disrupt" threat actors.   Overall, this report indicates a future that is not so far away, where threat actors are utilizing AI technologies. Now is the time to consider how you can deploy AI to protect your organization. https://lnkd.in/dx9zBaQU

As AI advances, we know security must continue to evolve to stay ahead of bad actors. I appreciate how Menlo Ventures' Rama Sekhar and Feyza Haskaraman framed the opportunity ahead for the security industry, thanks to AI transformation.   Sekhar and Haskaraman raised security training as a key beneficiary of AI transformation. What’s often considered a major pain point for organizations across industries can be reimagined using AI. By enabling dynamic content, generative AI can simulate real-world scenarios and risks for employees in a more lifelike environment, building a deeper understanding of security principles. I believe real-world experience can be the best way to learn, and I am encouraged by this possibility.   Unquestionably, AI will change the threat landscape, but it will also advance defenders' abilities to address new and evolving threats. In fact, this may be the most exciting time in history to have a career in security. I encourage you to read more and share your thoughts with me in the comments below. https://lnkd.in/gH77mnRC

In security, we are often confronted with the question, “What if bad actors are able to deploy our innovations in AI?” -- A new report from the Aspen Institute, Envisioning Cyber Futures with AI, took the next step and explored exactly that. Cybersecurity leaders and researchers from across the industry and public sectors envisioned two possible scenarios for the future of AI and cybersecurity: a “good place,” where AI predominantly helps cybersecurity defenders and a “bad place,” where AI helps bad actors.   As a result of their findings, the report focuses on key drivers and challenges that could shape these scenarios and, in turn, offers recommendations for how to steer the world toward the “good place” where AI is used to enhance cybersecurity defenses and protect our digital ecosystem. The guidelines outlined in the report are especially important as we drive these incredible innovations forward while still prioritizing the need for cross-sector collaboration, ethical principles, and human-centric design, ensuring that AI is developed and deployed responsibly and equitably.   At Microsoft, we are committed to advancing cybersecurity through tools that are secure by design and empowered by our responsible AI practices. AI can be a powerful ally in this mission, but only if we harness it with care and foresight, so that we all end up in the “good place” together. I encourage you to read the report and share your thoughts below.

In 2023, cyber criminals were relentless in their pursuits. From hacking into social media accounts to targeting vulnerable groups, the global community defended against an onslaught of phishing, ransom, and gang-related malware attempts.   Our team is hitting the ground running in 2024, and I am optimistic about Microsoft's opportunity to help educate cyber defenders and provide the resources they need to outpace threat actors. Our mission of secure by design will continue to have a positive impact on critical groups, businesses, families, employees, and customers. We are heads down this year unlocking new opportunities to expand on our tactics and help every organization innovate, securely.   In security, patterns over years tend to repeat themselves with small tweaks or new faces, so, sometimes the best way to predict the future is through knowledge of the past. I recommend dusting off the holidays with Zach's review of the threat landscape and the cyber criminals we faced in 2023: https://lnkd.in/du3HmpkD

What an exciting time to recognize the ten-year mark of Microsoft's Digital Crime Unit. The group began in 2013 to tackle pressing cyber challenges of the time, and ever since, the team continues to attract many of the most talented and committed security experts who are united in the mission to protect our globe. Today, cyber criminals and nation-state hackers continue to uplevel their attacks with business email compromise, nuanced phishing attempts, and exploitation of users for ransom and personal data. Microsoft's DCU has evolved over the years to not only stay ahead of those scammers but also to implement new legal and digital tactics that chip away at cyber criminals and their resources. As we reflect on a decade of the DCU's impactful work, we've witnessed how their talent helped shape the industry with a security-first approach. As my colleague Amy Hogan-Burney noted, the team is centered on their mission to protect victims. I am humbled as I watch the DCU team grow and accomplish even more over the next ten years: https://lnkd.in/dqqJn9Fb

Security is more important than ever for our customers, partners, and Microsoft. So much of the world depends on Microsoft for its digital safety and we need look no further than the news headlines to know we live in a rapidly evolving threat landscape, one that is highly demanding and drives us to continually innovate and deliver. Navigating all this requires a tremendous amount of leadership know-how and experience – I’m lucky to work with a group of leaders at Microsoft that work every day to make the world a safer place. As we recently shared in the Secure Future Initiative memo, the speed, sophistication, and scale of cyber-attacks is accelerating. This requires a new focus. To this end, I want to share a few moves we are making to evolve and adapt our approach. First, Bret Arsenault, who has served as our CISO for the past 14 years, will move to a new role as Chief Security Advisor. Bret will focus on escalating our impact across the entire ecosystem: Microsoft, partners, customers, government agencies, and important communities. With Bret assuming this new, critical, role I have asked Igor Tsyganskiy to step into the role of CISO, effective January 1, 2024. First, I want to thank Bret for his outstanding leadership as the CISO of Microsoft. He’s been instrumental in establishing a strong security culture, building a world-class Security organization, driving our Zero Trust strategy, and leading work across the industry. Bret is one of the most respected global security leaders on the planet. He’s also been a trusted advisor and mentor to so many at Microsoft, including me. I’m incredibly grateful for his contributions and his friendship and for his continued dedication to our mission-driven business. I am also pleased to welcome Igor into the CISO role. Igor is a technologist and dynamic leader with a storied career in high-scale/high-security, demanding environments. He brings deep knowledge and experience from his previous role outside of Microsoft and I look forward to continuing to collaborate with him on this important work. I am honored and humbled to work with such an amazing security leadership team and I look forward to our journey ahead.

During our annual Microsoft Ignite conference, we experienced firsthand how our team is strategizing to stay ahead of threat actors and supporting defenders as they navigate a global cyber workforce shortage. Security analysts are truly protecting our planet's digital ecosystem, and events like Ignite allow them to demonstrate hands-on examples and innovations around security and AI.   A key pillar at Ignite was streamlining the roadmap for security responders by bringing together platforms such as Microsoft Sentinel, Microsoft Defender XDR, and Microsoft Security Copilot. This unified approach helps increase the speed and scale of which security experts can prevent and respond to threats -- which is important now more than ever as we witness staggering statistics such as 4,000 password attacks per second.   We remain steadfast in our security priorities, and we're all-in on building a more secure future: https://lnkd.in/gyHPPg_H