Microsoft previewed new technology that uses artificial intelligence to defend against hackers by identifying, analyzing, and understanding the inner workings of malicious cyberattacks.
The new “Security Copilot,” announced Tuesday morning, is Microsoft’s latest integration of OpenAI’s GPT-4 technology, following earlier introductions of products including Microsoft’s Bing search chatbot, Microsoft 365 Copilot for the company’s productivity apps, and the Github Copilot virtual pair programmer.
Security Copilot integrates with Microsoft’s security products and leverages the company’s security threat intelligence data, making it more than a security chatbot, said Charlie Bell, Microsoft’s executive vice president for security, compliance, identity and management, in an online presentation introducing the new tool.
“This is really a better together story,” Bell said, saying that Security Copilot is “not only an OpenAI large language model, but rather it contains a network effect, enabling organizations to truly defend at machine speed.”
Security technology is a big business for Microsoft, generating more than $20 billion in revenue last year, and exposing the company to heightened complaints about ongoing vulnerabilities in its own software and online services.
As with other AI tools, however, Microsoft cautions that this one isn’t perfect.
“Security Copilot doesn’t always get everything right,” writes Vasu Jakkal, Microsoft corporate vice president, in a post introducing the new tool. “AI-generated content can contain mistakes. But Security Copilot is a closed-loop learning system, which means it’s continually learning from users and giving them the opportunity to give explicit feedback with the feedback feature that is built directly into the tool.”
Microsoft says the tool includes privacy protections and controls for internal customer data. Security Copilot is now available in a private preview, the company says. A release date and pricing haven’t been announced.
The product announcement comes a day after the latest round of Microsoft job cuts, which included layoffs in the company’s security technology organization.
