Microsoft plans to increase the amount it spends on cybersecurity initiatives — already more than $1 billion each year — in order to meet the growing demands of cloud computing.
Bharat Shah, the tech giant's vice president of security, told Reuters at a conference in Tel Aviv that a slew of recent acquisitions and investments in Israel — a hub for security technology — would only add to that total.
"As more and more people use cloud, that spending has to go up," Shah said.
Microsoft, which is increasingly focused on its Azure cloud system, acquired three Israeli cybersecurity companies — Aorato, Adallom and Secure Islands — over a two-year span, and invested in three others in the country, including Team8, the creator of Illusive Networks.
Illusive, which received its own investment from Microsoft this week, is used by banks and retailers to deploy deception technology that roots out cyberattacks.
Shah told Reuters that although Microsoft does not have immediate plans to utilize deception, "we look at lots of different technologies that might be of use in the future."
He also told the publication that user authentication — which could eliminate the need for passwords — could see much broader implementation over the next 12 months.
