American multinational tech company, Microsoft, has launched its first full-scale Cybersecurity Engagement Center (CSEC) in Delhi, India, after running a year long pilot. According to the company the CSEC will bring together Microsoft capabilities to foster deeper cybersecurity collaborations with public and private sector organizations and build a trusted and secure computing environment, claiming it to be a critical enabler for India’s digital transformation.
Being Microsoft’s seventh Cybersecurity Center in the world, CSEC India will function as a satellite to the company’s Redmond Digital Crimes Unit (DCU). The company has also rolled out a nationwide campaign to raise awareness about cybersecurity among Indian organizations.
Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India, said, “At Microsoft, we put trust and security at the core of everything we do. India stands at an exciting threshold today as we embrace the power of mobile and cloud computing. Data is becoming the driver of growth and innovation across every sector and will catalyze the 4th industrial revolution.”
“We believe security of critical information is imperative for our corporate customers, just as it is vital to ensure security and privacy of citizen data and transactions. Our first investment towards this was setting up our local datacenters in India last year, and today’s launch of the Cybersecurity Engagement Center is the second. Our cybersecurity investments in the country underline our relentless commitment to partnering India in realizing its digital vision.”
Microsoft’s cybersecurity engagement team states that it has interacted with over 100 companies during its pilot and found out that issues such as unmanaged and unregulated IT assets usage, procurement and maintenance; poor knowledge of cyber hygiene among users within organizations, and inability of companies to timely monitor, detect and remove cyber threats are plaguing organizations in the country which pose the highest cybersecurity risks in IT environments.
What will the CSEC do?
The company claims that the CSEC will bring together Microsoft and its partners to identify and respond to cyber threats in the country. It will also aim to expand Microsoft’s public-private partnerships in country and enable customers to tap into a pool of resources such as security specialists and technologies at Microsoft.
Public and private sector relationships
The CSEC states that it will build on the momentum in the last few years, where the DCU has fostered various partnerships with public sector and enforcement agencies globally. Microsoft’s DCU seeks to build trust by fighting global malware, reducing digital risk and protecting vulnerable populations, which is done by combining big data analytics, forensics and legal strategies.
Microsoft security consultancy services
As part of Microsoft Consultancy Services (MCS), a dedicated India-based response team will offer security consultancy services to enterprise customers. The MCS team claims to work closely with enterprises to understand their business goals, challenges and technical maturity to develop enterprise security strategies and empower them through their critical digital transformation. The services offered include cyber monitoring, threat detection using machine learning based technology and rapid response and resolution to cyber threats.
Raising cybersecurity awareness
The company has also dolled out an awareness campaign nationally to help organizations understand their security requirements better. Microsoft is also aiming to drive educational sessions and coaching sessions with enterprises in the country, which currently has covered over 300 enterprises.
Madhu Khatri, Associate General Counsel, Microsoft India stated, “We want to collaborate with our customers, our partners and with the Government to combat cyber threat in India.”
“As governments and enterprises embrace digital transformation and strive for resilience, a holistic and agile security platform is ever more critical. This is where Microsoft’s unique threat intelligence innovations and trusted cloud ecosystem offer them powerful protection against security threats.”