Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2024: Rising to the Challenge Together featuring Insights from Canadian Security Experts
Over the past four years, the global cybersecurity threat landscape has experienced a paradigm shift. Cyberattacks becoming increasingly sophisticated, threat actors taking advantage of the rise of AI, and more people than ever are communicating and sharing sensitive material online, elevating potential cyberthreats and risks.
Digital transformation represents an immense opportunity for innovation, however it also poses opportunity for cyber risk. To mitigate this risk, organizations must not just invest in the right technology, but also foster a culture of security with every employee at all levels.
At Microsoft, we recognize the unique responsibility we have in safeguarding the future for our customers and community. As a result, every individual at Microsoft plays a pivotal role to “prioritize security above all else.”
A critical component of Microsoft’s security-first culture is our Secure Future Initiative (SFI), which Microsoft announced in November 2023 to address the increasing speed, scale and sophistication of cyberattacks. It has brought together every part of the company to advance cybersecurity protection across both new products and legacy infrastructure. Since the initiative began, we’ve dedicated the equivalent of 34,000 full-time engineers to SFI—making it the largest cybersecurity engineering effort in history.
We’ve also taken important steps to incentivize our employees to prioritize security in everything they do. For instance, security is now a key component of employee performance reviews and senior leaders’ compensation is directly tied to their team’s security performance. Further, in July, we inaugurated the Security Skilling Academy, which offers curated courses for all employees, underscoring the paramount importance of security in our daily operations.
We are using AI as a security gamechanger for all organizations to help them defeat cyberattacks at machine speed with Microsoft’s Security Copilot. And recently, we created the Be Cybersmart Kit, a resource designed to educate everyone on best practices for going passwordless, not falling for sophisticated phishing or fraud, device protection, AI safety, and more.
The work we’ve done so far is just the beginning. Cyber threats will keep evolving, and so will we. By fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement, we’re building a future where security is a foundation, not just a feature.
At Microsoft, we recognize the importance of engaging and collaborating with our partners in government, the private sector, academia and the broader security industry. To mark Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we asked several Canadian leaders, innovators, and experts to share their insights on the current state and future of cybersecurity in our country. Their diverse perspectives touch on trends in cyber threats, data protection, privacy, and the importance of a security-first mindset.
Read below to gain more insights from these cybersecurity experts.
– Chris Barry, President, Microsoft Canada
