Today marks an thrilling milestone in Microsoft’s AI journey. This morning, at an occasion in New York City, we made a number of main bulletins to empower folks throughout work and life—you may learn extra about Microsoft Bing and Edge with Copilot, what’s new from Microsoft 365 Copilot and Bing Chat Enterprise for work, Microsoft Designer and Copilot in Microsoft 365, Windows 11, and new Surface gadgets in Yusuf Medhi’s weblog.
These improvements will redefine how we dwell and work with AI, and it’s so thrilling to see the progress we’re making to place AI and different capabilities into the fingers of our prospects throughout each side of their entire lives.
As we quickly iterate and enhance expertise, it’s crucial that we accomplish that with a security-first mindset. This means each constructing merchandise which are safe by default and making certain that we’re adopting and deploying new applied sciences, like AI, in a safe and accountable approach.
Designing Windows safety for the brand new period
Today, we shared the upcoming Windows 11 replace that will likely be out there on September 26, 2023. That replace consists of a number of necessary safety features and updates that assist make this essentially the most private and clever Windows expertise but. I wish to take a second to focus on a few of the key safety features you’ll hear extra about subsequent week:
Building the passwordless future
We’ve talked for years in regards to the passwordless future that we envision right here at Microsoft. We know that passwords are one of the widespread entry factors for assaults—in reality, there are greater than 4,000 password assaults each second—a virtually three-fold improve since final yr.1 That’s why it’s extra necessary than ever for organizations and people to make use of passwordless choices every time doable. In the Windows 11 replace, we’re excited to introduce:
- Even extra passwordless: IT groups will now have the ability to take away the choice to enter a password on day one for all Windows 11 gadgets with Windows Hello for Business, prompting workers to make use of safer login choices.
- More with passkeys: For the previous a number of years now we have been dedicated to working with our trade companions and the FIDO Alliance to additional the passwordless future with passkeys. Passkeys are the cross-platform, cross-ecosystem way forward for accessing web sites and functions. Today we’re happy to share that Windows 11 customers can higher make the most of passkeys. After making a passkey with Windows Hello, you may entry a web site or software utilizing your face, fingerprint, or gadget PIN. You can handle passkeys saved in your Windows PC and check in utilizing passkeys saved in your cell phone for added comfort. You can use passkeys on a wide range of companies corresponding to GitHub.com, DocuSign.com, and extra.
Empowering IT with new safety instruments
The newest Windows 11 can even embrace highly effective new instruments that empower IT groups to maintain their organizations and workers safer, together with:
- Custom App Control for Business insurance policies with Microsoft Intune: Applications are the lifeblood of our digital experiences, however they will additionally grow to be entry factors for threats. With software management, apps should earn belief to run, making certain solely permitted, safe, and trusted apps are allowed onto gadgets. By stopping undesirable or malicious code from working, software management is a crucial a part of a complete safety technique. Application management is commonly cited as one of the efficient technique of defending in opposition to malware. Customers can now use App Control for Business (previously referred to as Windows Defender Application Control) and its next-generation capabilities to guard their digital property from malicious code. With App Control for Business, IT groups can configure what runs in a enterprise atmosphere via Microsoft Intune or different MDMs within the admin console, together with establishing Intune as a managed installer.
- Config Refresh: We typically uncover risk actors launching assaults designed to evade safety measures by altering settings and system configurations. Config Refresh permits settings within the Policy Configuration Service Provider (CSP) on a Windows 11 gadget to be reset each 90 minutes by default, or each half-hour if desired. This protects in opposition to configuration settings being unexpectedly modified via both malicious software program or registry edits and ensures that your settings are retained in the best way IT configured them.
We will share extra particulars about these and different new Windows 11 options subsequent week.
New superior safety for Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, and Basic subscribers
As an organization, we’re additionally desirous about how we equip people with instruments and data to higher shield themselves at house. Today, we’re excited to announce new superior safety advantages for Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, and Basic subscribers.
Microsoft Defender for people introduces credit score monitoring and privateness safety within the United States
Today, we shared two new additions to Microsoft Defender for people that may assist people and households shield their private knowledge on-line:
- Credit monitoring: The Defender id theft monitoring capabilities will now be expanded with new credit score monitoring performance. Users will get an alert any time there may be exercise associated to their credit score that could be malicious, enabling them to behave rapidly and assist cease exercise whereas it’s occurring.
- Privacy safety: Privacy safety shields delicate knowledge from threats when customers are related to open and public Wi-Fi networks. It reduces on-line monitoring and protects in opposition to unhealthy actors on unsecured community and permits customers to cover their IP deal with and site from web sites, apps, and advertisers which will try to trace on-line exercise to gather private knowledge. Privacy safety additionally encrypts visitors and knowledge via a VPN.
Learn extra about Microsoft Defender for people.
OneDrive superior safety in Microsoft 365 Basic
Earlier this yr, we launched our most reasonably priced subscription plan, Microsoft 365 Basic. As promised, we’re now including the OneDrive superior safety features in our Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans to the Microsoft 365 Basic plan at no further value. Starting October 12, 2023, Microsoft 365 Basic subscribers may have entry to OneDrive superior safety features like limitless information in your Personal Vault, expiring sharing hyperlinks, password-protected sharing hyperlinks, information restore, and ransomware detection and restoration. Microsoft 365 Basic continues to supply 100 GB of cloud storage and unimaginable peace of thoughts advantages at an unimaginable value.
Using AI securely and responsibly
As we rejoice our developments throughout AI, it’s necessary to reiterate our dedication to deploying these applied sciences securely and responsibly. I’ve been fortunate sufficient to have had a front-row seat as we constructed, examined, and iterated on these superb AI applied sciences. But as we’ve watched this evolve, we acknowledge that, as Spider-Man would say, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” That is why we’re dedicated to constructing and deploying AI responsibly and ethically. You can learn extra about our commitments on the Empowering Responsible AI practices hub.
We’ve heard from prospects and seen firsthand that workers are keen to make use of AI within the office. But many leaders have considerations about using AI of their organizations. They fear that it might probably introduce pointless danger. That’s why we’re taking a protected and safe strategy for patrons, empowering them to really feel assured in utilizing AI at work. For instance, Bing Chat Enterprise helps workers faucet into the ability of AI whereas making certain prompts and responses aren’t logged or used to coach the underlying mannequin. Our commitments to enterprise-grade safety, privateness, id, compliance, and accountable AI in Microsoft 365 Copilot stay unchanged. And lastly we’ll proceed to make use of AI to drive a paradigm shift in safety with Microsoft Security Copilot. We empathize with safety and IT leaders making an attempt to navigate a difficult panorama and can proceed to construct safety into our merchandise to assist them harness the ability of AI confidently.
As a part of our time in New York in the present day, I’m happy to be part of a panel dialogue on this matter. Thank you for being a part of our journey and making safety forefront in your lives.
Stay tuned for extra thrilling particulars from Windows subsequent week as we rejoice the provision of the brand new Windows 11 on September 26, 2023.
Learn extra
To be taught extra about Microsoft Security options, go to our web site. Bookmark the Security weblog to maintain up with our skilled protection on safety issues. Also, comply with us on LinkedIn (Microsoft Security) and Twitter (@MSFTSecurity) for the most recent information and updates on cybersecurity.
1Microsoft inside knowledge.