How Microsoft envisions its security will work. Photo: Microsoft.
Microsoft has been improving its automated responses to security threats by building out security solutions like AI-powered chatbots and Microsoft Security Copilot and providing them to companies to help overworked security professionals by turning signals from each of your security tools into actionable insights.
It is hoped that by freeing up human defenders to focus on more complex cyberthreats and proactive security measures, this is just one way that AI- agents can be used to transform security, Microsoft added.
Now, in a blog post, Microsoft is offering six of its own security-focused AI agents that autonomously assist in critical areas like phishing, data security, and identity management, as well as five that have been created by its partners.
Tackling the security issue
According to Microsoft, phishing attacks remain one of the most common and damaging cyberthreats with the company detecting more than 30 billion phishing emails targeting customers between January and December 2024.
Alexander Stojanovic, Vice President of Microsoft Security AI Applied Research said:
This is just the beginning; our security AI research is pushing the boundaries of innovation, and we are eager to continuously bring even greater value to our customers at the speed of AI.
The six Microsoft-developed Security Copilot agents will enable teams to autonomously handle high-volume security and IT tasks while integrating with other Microsoft Security solutions and will be based on Microsoft's Zero Trust framework so they can learn from user feedback and adapt to internal workflows. The six AI agents and five more that are partner-developed will be available for preview in April 2025.
- Each agent will focus on a specific task. For example, one will monitor for new users or apps not covered by existing policies, identify necessary updates to close security gaps and recommend quick fixes for identity teams to apply with a single click.
- An agent's level of access and autonomy, including whether the agent acts under its own identity (with a unique username and password) or as an extension of a human account can be set by a user and unlike static automation, it recommends optimisations and provides one-click fixes.
Current charges for Microsoft Copilot Security are estimated at US$2,9201 a month based on US$4 for one SCU provisioned for 24 hours daily for the entire month. SCUs are provisioned per hour and billed monthly.
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