Microsoft announces enhanced collaboration with security partners for improved system deployment and testing procedures
Microsoft has unveiled the Windows Resiliency Initiative (WRI), a comprehensive plan aimed at strengthening the security of its Windows platform and preventing future software update issues. The WRI, along with related programs launched in 2024–2025, is designed to foster collaboration with security ecosystem partners, improve security capabilities outside of kernel mode, and implement safe deployment practices.
The initiative was kick-started at the Windows Endpoint Security Ecosystem Summit (WESES) held in September 2024, where Microsoft brought together endpoint security vendors and government officials to discuss resiliency approaches. One of the key outcomes of the summit was the Windows Virus Initiative (MVI) 3.0 program, which mandates partners to adopt specific security and reliability-enhancing actions.
The MVI 3.0 program emphasizes safe deployment practices, designed to reduce negative effects from security updates by enforcing gradual rollouts, deployment rings, and monitoring. This approach aims to deliver greater stability and faster recovery in response to any update disruptions, reducing operational risks for enterprise customers.
In addition to these measures, Microsoft plans to provide new Windows endpoint security platform capabilities starting in 2025, allowing security solutions to run in user mode instead of kernel mode. This architectural shift is expected to improve reliability and ease of recovery, lessening the chance that security product failures impact the overall system.
The WRI also includes partnerships with cybersecurity firms like Antigen Security to integrate security telemetry and risk models, helping customers reduce cyber insurance premiums by demonstrating a strong cyber risk posture. Microsoft is also collaborating with partners such as Accenture to develop AI-powered cybersecurity solutions to help organizations defend against increasingly sophisticated AI-augmented threats.
Microsoft's ultimate goal is to make its future platform secure-by-design, focusing on collaboration, safe deployment practices, and advanced cyber risk mitigation strategies. The company's efforts follow a historic July outage that affected 8.5 million Windows devices, causing disruptions to multiple hospitals, financial services companies, and even leading to thousands of flight cancellations by Delta Air Lines.
The recent summit also acknowledged the need for greater control over software updates in Windows, emphasizing the importance of gradual and staged deployment of updates, as highlighted by David Weston, VP of enterprise and OS security at Microsoft. The conversation between CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is reported to focus on extending architectures to provide additional resiliency, following the July 19 outage caused by a mismatch in the CrowdStrike Falcon sensor.
The industry is calling for a collective reset, focusing on raising standards for holding cybersecurity vendors accountable through transparent disclosures on public trust centers, as proposed by Sophos CEO Joe Levy. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency participated in the summit, along with Broadcom, SentinelOne, Trend Micro, and Trellix, signaling a broader industry commitment to enhancing security resilience.
[1] Microsoft Tech Community. (2024). Windows Endpoint Security Ecosystem Summit (WESES) Recap. [online] Available at: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-Endpoint-Manager/Windows-Endpoint-Security-Ecosystem-Summit-WESES-Recap/ba-p/3518193
[2] Microsoft. (2023). Microsoft and Accenture Collaborate to Deliver AI-Powered Cybersecurity Solutions. [online] Available at: https://news.microsoft.com/2023/02/07/microsoft-and-accenture-collaborate-to-deliver-ai-powered-cybersecurity-solutions/
[3] Microsoft. (2022). Microsoft and Antigen Security Partner to Help Customers Reduce Cyber Insurance Premiums. [online] Available at: https://news.microsoft.com/2022/11/09/microsoft-and-antigen-security-partner-to-help-customers-reduce-cyber-insurance-premiums/
- Microsoft's Windows Resiliency Initiative (WRI), launched in 2024, aims to strengthen endpoint security by collaborating with security ecosystem partners, improving security capabilities outside of kernel mode, and implementing safe deployment practices.
- The industry-wide collaboration, led by Microsoft, includes cybersecurity firms like Antigen Security, integration of security telemetry and risk models, and a focus on reducing cyber insurance premiums by demonstrating a strong cyber risk posture.
- In addition to these partnerships, Microsoft plans to provide new Windows endpoint security platform capabilities starting in 2025, allowing security solutions to run in user mode instead of kernel mode, boosting reliability and ease of recovery.
- The WRI also focuses on the finance industry, as Microsoft is collaborating with partners like Accenture to develop AI-powered cybersecurity solutions, helping organizations defend against increasingly sophisticated AI-augmented threats, particularly in the data-and-cloud-computing and business sectors.
