Tech giant Microsoft–citing a growing security threat—will reportedly block its employees based China from accessing work accounts on Android phones starting this September.
The company will also reportedly provide iPhone 15s as a one-time purchase to ensure compatibility with mandatory security apps.
These apps, Microsoft Authenticator and Identity Pass, are unavailable due to China’s ban on Google Mobile Services. Though local brands like Huawei and Xiaomi have app stores, Microsoft prioritizes the security offered by Apple’s iOS ecosystem.
This stricter policy aligns with Microsoft’s Secure Future Initiative (SFI), launched last year to strengthen security measures, the company earlier said. The goal is to minimize unauthorized access through robust authentication methods and best practices.
Microsoft responding to cyberattacks
Microsoft said it is highlighting the urgency of these changes in response to recent cyberattacks.
Microsoft said it launched SFI to prepare for the increasing scale and high stakes of cyberattacks.
“SFI brings together every part of Microsoft to advance cybersecurity protection across our company and products,” Charlie Bell, Executive Vice President of Microsoft Security, said in a blog. “Since then, the threat landscape has continued to rapidly evolve, and we have learned a lot. The recent findings by the Department of Homeland Security’s Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) regarding the Storm-0558 cyberattack from last July, and the Midnight Blizzard attack we reported in January, underscore the severity of the threats facing our company and our customers,” Bell said.
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