Microsoft launches the Secure Future Initiative, a multi-year plan for AI defence, identity and access management, software supply chain security and more

MFA implemented for all users accessing the Microsoft Azure portal, Microsoft Entra admin centre and Microsoft Intune admin centre sharing private data, and if that agent is not protected, then it will go and execute those tasks. For example, it could infiltrate the organisation it is built for and access sensitive financial data.

“ We always knew insider risk was a challenge. Now, when you think about agents, they are like insiders. They’ re working in your organisation, but if you don’ t protect them, then you’ re going to have the same risk with that agent and the scale is going to be at a different level than human risk. So, we have to be very, very proactive in that.”

Thinking in graphs Traditionally, the way organisations defended was to defend devices, networks, identities and data.

“ That’ s all good,” Vasu says,“ but it’ s very siloed. That’ s not how attackers operate now. An attacker might use a phishing email and infiltrate your inbox. Then they might sit there and escalate permissions to move laterally through your environment.

“ So, an attacker is moving from email to devices to networks to cloud, getting access to your data and identity. This is what we call a graph when you’ re traversing things, and if you defend only in silos, then you have a gap between these areas.”

Microsoft believes that, if attackers think in graphs, defenders also have to think in graphs. It has rolled out graphbased technology across its enterprise security suite to close the gap on attackers.

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