Microsoft: real-time threat feed

If the rumors are true, Microsoft is stepping up significantly to join the fight against cyber crime. Allegedly, Microsoft is developing a real-time feed that documents current cyber threats and gives necessary steps to safeguard against them.

With Microsoft’s achievements in tackling botnets, they’ve been able to acquire a lot of information around the specific threats these botnets pose. By allowing the botnets to infect highly monitored environments, Microsoft had been able to identify and remove the destructive bots and also learn how they work.

This collected information is now given to ISPs, private and government organizations, & CERTs. While real-time data may not decrease the number of attacks by destructive code, the impact of sharing this data will most likely be quite remarkable. IT security companies should be able to respond more quickly to these threats and thus be able to decrease the amount of damage they can cause.

Microsoft’s live threat feed may have a much more important impact: It could lead the information security industry to share more data. For too long, companies have hesitated to share important security information that they fear can result in a copycat attack. This is a mistaken belief as cyber criminals are already swapping information among themselves. It makes sense, therefore, for security professionals to also share real-time information.

Let’s hope that security professionals soon realize that sharing information is more valuable than secrecy. And let’s hope that Microsoft’s move is a first step in this change of attitude.