Microsoft announced on Wednesday that it will be expanding its range of complimentary security tools for customers, addressing concerns that it was previously charging them to protect against Microsoft’s mistakes.
The decision comes in the wake of a significant cyber attack, during which suspected Chinese spies infiltrated the email accounts of senior US officials. This breach, coupled with objections from security experts and lawmakers regarding the cost of protective tools, prompted Microsoft to take action.
In a blog post released on the same day, Microsoft declared that it would be gradually providing all customers with access to the advanced features of its auditing suite, known as Microsoft Purview.
While these digital auditing tools cannot entirely prevent hacks, they play a crucial role in helping organizations identify and understand security breaches within their networks, enabling them to remove intruders effectively.
In a statement released alongside Microsoft’s blog post, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency official Eric Goldstein said that “everyone wins” when security tools are provided free of charge. Charging for those tools “is a recipe for inadequate visibility into investigating cybersecurity incidents,” Goldstein said.
Previously, Microsoft faced considerable criticism for charging for the enhanced versions of these tools, particularly in light of the recent hack on the US State and Commerce Departments. The company eventually acknowledged that the breach was a result of coding flaws and security loopholes, which might have gone unnoticed if not for an astute victim who identified an irregularity in their digital logs.
