Microsoft has acquired Miburo, a cybersecurity company. The company specializes in the detection of and response to foreign information operations. Simply put, Miburo attempts to detect and research cybersecurity threats that predominantly originate from hostile countries and rogue states.
Milburo"s mission statement reads the company has set out to help "protect democracies and the free information environment from malign influence and extremism." Microsoft has indicated it will incorporate Miburo’s personnel, solutions, and products, within the Customer Security and Trust organization. Speaking about the acquisition, Microsoft"s corporate vice president of Customer Security and Trust, Tom Burt said:
Working in close collaboration with the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center, our Threat Context Analysis team, our data scientists and others, the new analysts from Miburo will enable Microsoft to expand its threat detection and analysis capabilities to address new cyber-attacks and shed light on the ways in which foreign actors use information operations in conjunction with other cyber-attacks to achieve their objectives. Miburo has become a leading expert in identification of foreign information operations.
Miburo’s threat detection platforms should help Microsoft expand its own cybersecurity defenses and capabilities. The solutions would also help the company counter new threats and state-sanctioned malicious information operations.
Miburo was founded by Clint Watts, who will become part of Microsoft’s Customer Security and Trust organization. The company has an expansive language portfolio and expertise in foreign information operations knowledge.
Microsoft has been actively expanding its own product line to bolster the cybersecurity of personal computers and corporate networks. Additionally, the company offers its products and services to the public, military, research, and law enforcement sectors. Acquiring Miburo should not only help Microsoft expand its products and their capabilities, but also expand its operations in international markets.