In today’s digital world, cybersecurity isn’t just a technical concern—it’s a business imperative. The speed and sophistication of cyberattacks are accelerating: over 7,000 password attacks occurred every second in 2024 alone. The stakes are high. A single
breach can compromise critical assets, disrupt operations, and erode the trust your organization has worked hard to build.
A security-first culture is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s essential. Every employee, from the boardroom to the front lines, plays a role in protecting data, systems, and reputation. Cyber risk is business risk. That’s why organizations must embed security into every decision, align it with strategic goals, and empower teams with the tools and clarity they need to act decisively.
Recognizing the scale and urgency of today’s threats, Microsoft launched the Secure Future Initiative (SFI)—a multi-year, company-wide commitment to reimagine how we design, build, test, and operate our technology. Backed by 34,000 full-time security professionals, SFI is grounded in three core principles:
- Secure by Design: Security is built in from the start—not bolted on later.
- Secure by Default: Protections are enabled automatically, requiring no extra effort.
- Secure Operations: Continuous monitoring and rapid response are standard
practice.
SFI is already delivering measurable impact:
- $4 billion in fraud attempts blocked by Microsoft’s security teams
- 90% of Microsoft Entra ID identity tokens now issued through a single secure
SDK. - Zero Trust at scale, with phishing-resistant MFA and Azure Managed Identities
enforced across environments. - Comprehensive asset inventories and permission segmentation to reduce attack
surfaces. - Red Team operations that rigorously test defenses and drive continuous
improvement.
As a leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Endpoint Protection Platforms, Microsoft is not just responding to threats—we’re setting new standards. In the next Weekly Leaf, we will present essential insights in our next post to guide impactful security discussions with your leadership team and underscore the importance of using a generative AI-powered assistant to safeguard your organization.
Microsoft’s mission is to empower every individual and organization, while also ensuring secure computing experiences. To learn more about cybersecurity, please visit What is Cybersecurity? Key Concepts Explained. For information on building security foundations and exploring new frontiers of cybersecurity, please refer to the Microsoft Digital Defense
Report 2024.
