Azure Updates: Cloud security; SMB; Threat actor

Microsoft CVP Kathleen Mitford highlighted three cloud adoption trends from a new Microsoft survey of 1,200 IT decisionmakers.  Around 62 percent of participants reported that their organizations have a migration and modernization strategy in place, with modernization as the main focus of digital transformation. 71 percent of the organizations continue to use hybrid cloud and multi-cloud set ups. Referring to recent migration examples like the Bank of Angola or O2 Czech Republic, Mitford encouraged companies to use Azure capabilities like Cost Management, Advisor, Monitor and Cost Management and Billing.

VP John Walton discussed Microsoft’s commitments to security for Azure defense in depth. As part of its Security Development Lifecycle it is adopting ISO/IEC 27034-1 and working to comply with the White House Executive Order on Cyber Security. Microsoft awarded $13.7 million in 2021 in the form of “bug bounties” and recently expanded the program to cover cross-tenant bug reports. In addition to initiatives around integrated response and secure multitenancy, Microsoft has introduced Cloud Variant Hunting to understand vulnerability patterns specific to particular services.