Microsoft: Rising Threats in Cyberspace, Evolution of AI Will Demand Strategic Approach

Emma Okonji

Microsoft, a global technology company, has stressed the need for organisations to prioritise security above everything else, following the rising threats in cybersecurity globally.

According to Microsoft, the changing threat landscape and evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI), means that organisations need to think about cybersecurity differently.

Speaking at a recent Microsoft Africa AI Journalist Academy virtual press conference, the CTO and Commercial Solutions Area Director at Microsoft South Africa, Mr. Colin Baumgart, said: “The cybersecurity landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by the relentless evolution of technology and the increasing sophistication of cyber threats. In this dynamic environment, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a pivotal ally in the fight against cybercrime.” 

According to him, AI’s ability to analyse vast amounts of data at lightning speeds enables the identification of patterns and anomalies that may indicate a security breach, often before it occurs. This proactive stance is crucial in a time when reactive measures are no longer sufficient. 

He said in an era where digital threats continued to escalate in complexity and scale, organisations cannot just think about defending against cyber threats, as we need to be advancing the way we design, build, test and operate our technology to meet the highest standards of security.  It is for this reason that Microsoft created The Secure Future Initiative (SFI), a multi-year undertaking to safeguard our digital ecosystem, he said.

He explained that the solution remained an approach that is anchored in three fundamental principles: secure by design, secure by default, and secure operations, ensuring that security is not an afterthought but a foundational element of everything we create. 

Presenting a paper on cybersecurity, the Chief Data Officer for Microsoft South Africa, Dean Erasmus,discussed AI’s rapid advancement and its global impact. According to him, the pace of innovation in AI is astonishing. The demand from customers and governments for AI capabilities is skyrocketing. Use cases that were once priorities are now standard SaaS offerings. Additionally, the cost of AI infrastructure has plummeted, making it more accessible than ever.

“Microsoft prioritises AI safety. We’ve developed a framework based on our experiences in North America and Europe, where regulations are more established. This framework focuses on fairness, reliability, inclusivity, standards, and accountability. From an implementation perspective, one of the biggest challenges we face is ensuring that organisations have the right data and infrastructure in place. Without high-quality data, AI models will produce inaccurate results. Additionally, organizations need to invest in the necessary infrastructure to support AI workloads, including powerful hardware and specialised software,” Erasmus said.

Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Microsoft South Africa, Wessel Pieterse,  who spoke on the theme: ‘The Cybersecurity Landscape- and the A1 oppourtunity’, said cybersecurity threats were evolving rapidly, adding that device compromises and password attacks have increased dramatically in recent years.

“Microsoft tracked a 10-fold increase in password attacks between 2022 and 2023. Additionally, the sophistication of threat actors has grown, with over 300 large-scale threat groups now active. The complexity of cybersecurity has also increased,” Pieterse said.

To address the challenges, he advised that organisations seeking ways to consolidate their security strategies, must adopt a more integrated security platform that can help correlate data from different tools, identify threats more effectively, and automate response processes.

“Additionally, investing in security awareness training can help employees recognise and avoid common threats. By adopting a more integrated approach to cybersecurity, organisations can better protect themselves against the evolving threat landscape,” Pieterse added.