Nadella pitches for security at cloud forum

Microsoft chief Satya Nadella has pitched for security at the State of Security speech at the Microsoft Government Cloud Forum in Washington DC. 

He said the company was making progress in keeping services like Windows, Azure and Office 365 safe.

He further added that securing the data centre was no longer enough, adding security should secure everything from within the organisation to the devices in users' hands.

With 150 million records compromised, 2015 turned out to be a bad year for online security, estimated to cost the world economy $3 trillion. 

With society becoming more dependent on the Internet of Things with more devices and sensors, the issue had gained added urgency.

Securing the devices and sensors was no longer an option but a necessity. According to Nadella, the level of trust between Microsoft and its partners needed to increase so they could enjoy personal and business solutions.

According to commentators, while Microsoft was obviously interested in global network and product security, it was also a very well thought out pitch. 

Besides boosting Microsoft products and services, Nadella reached out to government agencies in the audience.

"Trust is at the core" of Microsoft's mission, Nadella said. "When it comes to privacy, we will ensure your data is private and under your control. When it comes to compliance, we will manage your data in accordance with the law of the land.

"We will also be transparent about both the collection of data and usage of data. And, lastly, we will ensure that all of your data is secure."

According to experts, Microsoft had taken security more seriously in recent years and was willing to partner with independent researchers who uncovered flaws in their products.

As a matter of fact, Microsoft today ran one of the more sophisticated bug bounty programmes in the industry, a system that offered rewards to third-party researchers who indentified problems and worked with the company to fix them.