Ignite 2018: Microsoft announces Secure Score, vows to end the era of passwords

Arif Bacchus

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Microsoft has long been looking to make the world more secure with features like Windows Hello, and the firm today is taking another big step in that direction. On stage at Ignite 2018, Microsoft is announcing Secure Score and a series of other new offerings which aim to protect and save businesses and enterprises from security and password worries.

First off, there is Microsoft Threat Protection. This new solution brings together Microsoft’s threat protection solutions across emails, PCs, identities, combined into a single integrated experience. Microsoft promises that this solution should help save security analysts thousands of hours by helping detect cyber threats and remediate their ever changing effects.

Next up, there is new support for password-less login in the Microsoft Authenticator app for Azure Active Directory. Familiar to most consumers, this app removes passwords and combines the phone’s fingerprint, face or PIN for a secure, multi-factor login. With Authenticator, Microsoft is declaring “an end to the era of passwords.”  It’s coming to Azure Active Directory accounts and is available today.

Finally, there is Microsoft Secure Score, which is being called the “only dynamic report card for cybersecurity.” Designed for large organizations, the solution gives a dynamic enterprise report card for cybersecurity. Microsoft promises that this service will give organizations assessments and recommendations, to help them reduce their changes at breaches by “30-fold.” Secure Score is available now for IT professionals, and you can learn more by checking here.

These are just three of the big security-related announcements from Ignite 2018. Microsoft also revealed a public preview of Azure confidential computing, Modern compliance enhancements, and an expansion of their work through the Cybersecurity Tech Accord.