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The word strategy has its origins in the Roman Empire and was used to describe the leading of troops in battle. From a military perspective, strategy is a top-level plan designed to achieve one or more high-order goals. A clear strategy is especially important in times of uncertainty as it provides a framework for those involved in executing the strategy to make the decisions needed for success. In a corporate or government entity, the primary role of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) is to establish a clear cybersecurity strategy and oversee its execution. To establish an effective strategy, one must first understand, and it is recommended to document, t…

In the first blog post of this 3-part series, we introduced what rapid cyberattacks are and illustrated how they are different in terms of execution and outcome. Next, we will go into some more details on the Petya (aka NotPetya) attack. How Petya worked The Petya attack chain is well understood, although a few small mysteries remain. Here are the four steps in the Petya kill chain: Figure 1:How the Petya attack worked Prepare – The Petya attack began with a compromise of the MEDoc application. As organizations updated the application, the Petya code was initiated. Enter – When MEDoc customers installed the software update, the Petya code ran on…

There has been an increase in free versions of programs that purport to scan computers for various errors, and then use alarming, coercive messages to scare customers into buying a premium version of the same program. The paid version of these programs, usually called cleaner or optimizer applications, purportedly fixes the problems discovered by the free version. We find this practice problematic because it can pressure customers into making unnecessary purchase decisions. To help protect customers from receiving such coercive messaging, we are updating our evaluation criteria to specify that programs must not use alarming or coercive messaging that can put pressure…

In December, the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) brought the world together to talk about the internet. I tend to take a definite interest in cybersecurity, but there were many more important topics discussed. They ranged from diversity in the technology sector through to philosophy in the digital age. Cybersecurity was, nonetheless, a major theme. My colleagues and I found an agenda packed with varied sessions that sought to tackle anything from effective cooperation between CERTS, the difficulties in developing an international framework for cybersecurity norms and other issues the Digital Geneva Convention touches on, to the very real cross-border legal challenges in c…

Attackers are determined to circumvent security defenses using increasingly sophisticated techniques. Fileless malware boosts the stealth and effectiveness of an attack, and two of last years major ransomware outbreaks (Petya and WannaCry) used fileless techniques as part of their kill chains. The idea behind fileless malware is simple: If tools already exist on a device (for example PowerShell.exe or wmic.exe) to fulfill an attackers objectives, then why drop custom tools that could be flagged as malware? If an attacker can take over a process, run code in its memory space, and then use that code to call tools that are already on a device, the attack becomes more di…

Rapid cyberattacks like Petya and WannaCrypt have reset our expectations on the speed and scope of damage that a cyberattack can inflict. The Microsoft Enterprise Cybersecurity Group Detection and Response team worked extensively to help customers respond to and recover from these kinds of attacks. In 2017, among the global enterprise customers that we worked with, these rapid cyberattacks took down most or all IT systems in just about one hour, resulting in $200M – 300M USD of damage at several customers. [1] Attackers assembled several existing techniques into a new form of attack that was both: Fast – Took about an hour to spread throughout the enterprise Dis…

The start of a new year is the perfect time to reassess your security strategy and tactics especially when looking back at the new levels of ransomwares reach and damage in 2017. Its no secret that ransomware attacks are increasing. In fact, a business is hit with ransomware every 40 seconds. If ransomware does get a hold of your data, you can pay a large amount of money hoping that you will get your data back. The alternative is to not pay anything and begin your recovery process. Whether you pay the ransom or not, your enterprise loses time and resources dealing with the aftermath. Microsoft invests in several ways to help you mitigate the effects of ransomware. …

This post is authored by Milad Aslaner, Senior Program Manager, Windows & Devices Group. A decade ago, most cyber-attacks started with a piece of malware or a complex method to directly attack the infrastructure of a company. But this picture has changed and today all it takes is a sophisticated e-mail phishing for an identity. Figure 1: Trying to identify a loophole in the complex infrastructure Digitalization is happening and there is no way around it. Its a necessity for all industries and a natural evolutionary step in society. Its not about when or if digital transformation is happening, but how. Our Microsoft security approach is targeted…

Adopting reliable attack methods and techniques borrowed from more evolved threat types, ransomware attained new levels of reach and damage in 2017. The following trends characterize the ransomware narrative in the past year: Three global outbreaks showed the force of ransomware in making real-world impact, affecting corporate networks and bringing down critical services like hospitals, transportation, and traffic systems Three million unique computers encountered ransomware; millions more saw downloader trojans, exploits, emails, websites and other components of the ransomware kill chain New attack vectors, including compromised supply chain, exploits, phishing ema…

Last week the technology industry and many of our customers learned of new vulnerabilities in the hardware chips that power phones, PCs and servers. We (and others in the industry) had learned of this vulnerability under nondisclosure agreement several months ago and immediately began developing engineering mitigations and updating our cloud infrastructure. In this blog, Ill describe the discovered vulnerabilities as clearly as I can, discuss what customers can do to help keep themselves safe, and share what weve learned so far about performance impacts. What Are the New Vulnerabilities? On Wednesday, Jan. 3, security researchers publicly detailed three potential …

It’s a keyboard shortcut – and it’s got smiley faces, people and celebration emojis, just to name a few. Simply press the Windows key and the period button to get started! Have a great week! The post Windows 10 Tip: Get started with the emoji keyboard shortcut appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

This is the first of a series of blog entries to give some insight into the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) business and how we work with security researchers and vulnerability reports. The Microsoft Security Response Center actively recognizes those security researchers who help us to protect our several billion customers and their endpoints in several ways. We split our acknowledgments into three distinct categories, CVE qualified submissions, online services, and bug bounty. It is possible that a single submission will be acknowledged by one or more of these categories. We update our acknowledgements each month with the latest findings and submissions. …

This is the first of a series of blog entries to give some insight into the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) business and how we work with security researchers and vulnerability reports. The Microsoft Security Response Center actively recognizes those security researchers who help us to protect our several billion customers and their endpoints in several ways.

We hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of This Week on Windows! Check out our Windows 10 Tip on how to add 3D to your PowerPoint presentation in five easy steps, read more about the new 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor Xbox One X Edition for Forza Motorsport 7 – or, head over here to save up to 40% off hit movies and up to 60% off TV season passes, including fan favorites like Dragon Ball Z and Naruto. Check out all that Anime Month has to offer, now through Feb. 26 in the Movies & TV section of the Microsoft Store. Also – Feb. 5 kicks off National Entrepreneurship Week and, to celebrate, every Microsoft Store in the U.S. and Canada will offer free workshops and events to …

Did you know that with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, you can now easily add 3D objects in your PowerPoint presentations, Word, and Excel documents? 3D in PowerPoint, Word and Excel, is now broadly available to Windows users with O365 subscriptions and the Fall Creators Update and will completely reinvigorate and make your standard presentations stand out. With the new 3D features, you can quickly and easily create presentations in just 5 easy steps. Today, we’re going to show you how to make your PowerPoint presentation pop! First, open a presentation in PowerPoint. You don’t need any fancy extensions or plug-ins, just the latest version of Office 365 will do…

Launched with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, the reimagined Photos app helps you create videos of your memories with a soundtrack, theme and cinematic transitions. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert photographer and videographer, Photos makes it easy to get started. With today’s update, you can take your filmmaking to the next level by selecting yourself or nominating someone to be the star in your automatically generated creation. Photos will then build a video around the person you choose, pulling in relevant photos and videos, zooming in on your star, and choosing an appropriate theme. The new feature allows you to follow your child across the field in a m…

We hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of This Week on Windows! Head over here to read about the new “Choose a star” feature in the Photos app or how Xbox Game Pass expanded to include new releases from Microsoft Studios, check out our Windows 10 Tip on how to get started annotating your books in Microsoft Edge in this week’s Windows 10 Tip, and check out the Mixer blog, where the team is talking about major milestones in 2017, including what’s next for Mixer in 2018! In case you missed it: We had an amazing 2017 and accomplished so much thanks to our incredible community, and there's so much more on the horizon for 2018!An Amazing 2017: What's Next? pic.tw…

Hello Windows Insiders! Today, we are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17083 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring and for those who opted in to Skip Ahead. What’s new in Build 17083 Font Settings and Fonts in the Microsoft Store Fonts are an important asset for your visual creativity. In this build, we’re introducing new experiences for managing your fonts in Settings, and for acquiring additional fonts from the Microsoft Store. You may be familiar with the Fonts control panel, which you could use to see the fonts that are currently installed, or to install or uninstall fonts. That control panel hasn’t been able to show off newer font cap…

In a world that’s constantly evolving with new technologies like Artificial Intelligence and smart devices, our commitment to deliver on our Privacy Principles and work with you to evolve the Windows privacy experience doesn’t change. To kick off the new year ahead of Data Privacy Day we are giving our Windows Insiders an early preview of the Windows Diagnostic Data Viewer coming in our next release of Windows. Our commitment is to be fully transparent on the diagnostic data collected from your Windows devices, how it is used, and to provide you with increased control over that data. This is all part of our commitment to increase your trust and confidence in our pro…

You can add highlights in four colors, underline, add comments or copy text. To see the menu with these options, simply highlight the preferred word or sentence with your mouse or finger. You can also select the Cortana icon from the same menu to find more information about the content you are reading without leaving the reading experience. Get started by downloading a book to personalize from the Books section in the Microsoft Store, and head over here to learn more about what’s new in the Fall Creators Update, or how to get the update! Windows 10 Tip: Annotate your books in Microsoft Edge Tweet This The post Windows 10 Tip: Annotate your books in Microso…

Hello Windows Insiders! Today we are releasing Windows Server Insider Preview Build 17079 to Windows Server Insiders. This build is a preview build of the next Semi-Annual Channel release of Windows Server. For more information on the Semi-Annual channel, please see the Windows Server Semi-Annual Channel overview What’s New in Build 17079 for Windows Server In-place OS Upgrade: Customers are now able to upgrade their Windows Server, version 1709 installations to the current preview build using In-place OS Upgrade. This feature is available starting in build 17079. This feature also enables customers to perform build-to-build upgrade of the next released preview…

When we launched Xbox Game Pass in June 2017, we knew we wanted to craft a service with gamers in mind. That meant a diverse, expanding library of over 100 games and counting, matched with one monthly price and unlimited access to download and play full-fidelity experiences. We know our fans value having a variety of games to play at a low monthly price. We’ve also heard from fans that the ability to play new blockbuster games in Xbox Game Pass is important. So we’ve continued to explore new ideas to make this possible. Today, we’re excited to announce plans for a major expansion to Xbox Game Pass that underscores our commitment to deliver our fans the ultimate gami…

Our ongoing commitment to empower every student to create the world of tomorrow continues today with several new announcements for education. Whether igniting interest in STEM, learning in 3D, helping students of all abilities improve their reading, writing, and comprehension, or saving teachers time and helping them collaborate, we know technology has the power to unlock limitless learning. I love hearing about the inspiring results we see from schools using Microsoft Education products, and we’ve been pleased to see more schools choosing Windows this year. This week at Bett, we’ll show new Windows 10 and Windows 10 S devices from Lenovo and JP, starting at just…

We hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of This Week on Windows! Head over here to learn more about Surface Book 2 coming to all Surface markets, catch up on the news about the Sea of Thieves Closed Beta, or, check out our Windows 10 Tips on staying in touch with My People and getting started with the Mixed Reality Viewer app. In case you missed it: Here’s what’s new in Microsoft Store this week: Need a good book? Check out Walter Isaacson’s reading list in the Microsoft Store Walter Isaacson is one of today’s most influential writers, authoring bestselling biographies about luminaries past (Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin) and present (Steve …

Hello Windows Insiders! Today we are releasing Windows Server Insider Preview Build 17074 to Windows Insiders. This build is a preview build of the next Semi-Annual Channel release of Windows Server. For more information on the Semi-Annual channel, please see the Windows Server Semi-Annual Channel overview Available Content Server Insiders have the choice of Server Core Edition in ISO or VHDX format. The images are pre-keyed – no need to enter a key during setup. Symbols are available on the public symbol server – see Update on Microsoft’s Symbol Server blog post and Using the Microsoft Symbol Server. As before, matching Windows Server container images will …