Microsoft CEO on cybersecurity: We're all in this together
In a State of Security address, Satya Nadella acknowledged that we face more digital threats than ever before, but he also proposed solutions for how to fix them.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella gives a speech in Berlin, November 11, 2015.
Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters/File
Friday鈥檚 attacks in Paris left many searching for answers, not only for the names and identities of the suspected terrorists, but also for how they were able to plan such a coordinated assault without their messages being intercepted. The attacks have renewed a worldwide debate over encryption and the security risks that it poses.
In a State of Security Address at the Microsoft Cloud Forum on Tuesday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella acknowledged that it does seem to be the case that new threats crop up with each new iteration of technology. But he reiterated in the face of digital threats.
鈥淲e have always had attacks on trust,鈥� Mr. Nadella said, 鈥淸and] each time we have come together as a community to respond.鈥�
鈥淲e know . [We] have a heterogeneous environment and we need to operate within it,鈥� he added.
Microsoft has not always had the easiest time in addressing security breaches in its products. Bill Gates , but Microsoft products have been continually beset by bugs since then, in October.
But in the talk, Nadella said that , thanks in large part to facial-recognition login technology and , which locks devices so that they can run only聽trusted applications. 聽听听听
Nadella also announced that,聽 the technology company has already invested in security so far this year, Microsoft will be building a new Cyber Defense Operations Center at its corporate headquarters outside Seattle.
Microsoft also plans to develop a team of cybersecurity experts called the Microsoft Enterprise Cybersecurity Group. The defense center聽will focus on responding to threats in real time, while the cybersecurity group will provide 聽solutions and analysis to other organizations, .
Microsoft鈥檚 Chief Information Security Officer Bret Arsenault that the launches are part of Microsoft鈥檚 corporate emphasis on seeking to provide improved digital security and privacy to its customers and corporate partners.
鈥淲e made the decision that we should get security as close to the workload as possible, versus its own separate product. We think that goes back to the idea of evolving from one perimeter to [being a focus of] everything we do: protect[ing] data, devices, and people,鈥� Mr. Arsenault said.
In his talk, Nadella said, 鈥淭rust is central to our mission. [We take a] principled approach to ensure our customers trust the digital technologies they use.鈥�