Microsoft’s Future Decoded event in London is still ongoing, and the company has just announced an expansion of its Defending Democracy Program to the UK. The Redmond giant launched this new initiative back in August in the US, aiming to address the evolving online threats to democracy.
Starting today, Microsoft AccountGuard, a free service offering advanced measures to protect critical democratic processes from cyberattacks is available in the UK. The service is free for eligible organizations using Office 365, and that includes political parties and all other organizations involved in the UK democratic process.
“The service will provide notification about cyberthreats, including attacks by known nation-state actors, in a unified way across both email systems run by eligible organisations and the personal accounts of these organisations’ leaders and staff. It will also offer ongoing security guidance and education and provide early adopter opportunities for security features,” explained Hugh Milward, Microsoft UK Director, Corporate External & Legal Affairs today.
Microsoft made several other UK-related announcements this morning, including the launch of a new AI Academy to teach digital skills in the country, as well as a partnership with University of Cambridge to support AI research. We’re currently live from London to cover the Future Decoded event, and we’re looking forward to seeing what Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will talk about during tomorrow’s morning keynote.
