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Microsoft’s internal security team uses a Zero Trust security model to keep the company safe.
Guided by its Zero Trust security model, in 2021 the internal security team focused on protecting its employees and the company while providing employees appropriate access on the devices they needed to do their work.
Foundation of Zero Trust
Microsoft’s internal deployment of its Zero Trust model requires alignment among many teams across the country who must work together to protect more than 600 offices in 120 countries and regions.
Read more about implementing a Zero Trust security model at Microsoft.
In Microsoft’s approach to Zero Trust, we don’t assume any identity or device on our corporate network is secure. We continuously verify it—this allows us to reduce the risk in our environment.
-Carmichael Patton, security architect, Microsoft internal security
Zero Trust best practices
Microsoft’s commitment to using a Zero Trust model to protect the company begins with identity verification and device health, and is backed by making sure its network is healthy.
“In Microsoft’s approach to Zero Trust, we don’t assume any identity or device on our corporate network is secure,” says Carmichael Patton, a security architect on the company’s internal security team. “We continuously verify it—this allows us to reduce the risk in our environment.”
Zero Trust networking
Deploying a Zero Trust model on Microsoft’s internal network centers on strong identity, least-privilege access, device health verification, and service-level control and telemetry across the company’s entire IT infrastructure. This includes fully integrated authentication across all network devices, effective segmentation of the company’s global network, end-to-end encrypted connectivity, and intelligent monitoring.
“Zero Trust networking requires a reassessment of any organization’s network operations,” says David Lef, a principal IT enterprise architect on Microsoft’s internal networking team. “At Microsoft, we’re making fundamental changes to a network that hosts more than 1 million devices.”
Read about the lessons Microsoft learned implementing a Zero Trust model across its network.
Transforming how Microsoft responds to billions of security events
Microsoft needed to upgrade how it responds to the billions of security events that inundate the company daily so it could focus on the most important security threats.
The company turned to Microsoft Azure Sentinel, its new Security Information Event Management (SIEM) system. The new SEIM enables Microsoft’s engineers and analysts to protect the company much more effectively.
“Ingesting data into our legacy SIEM took hours,” says Mei Lau, a senior program manager for Microsoft Digital, the organization that powers, protects, and transforms Microsoft. “In Sentinel, it takes around 10 minutes, which is 18 times faster.”
- Look into how you can manage your network with a Zero Trust security model.
- Migrate your identities to Microsoft Azure Active Directory to establish modern identity.
- Protect your online environment with Microsoft Security Essentials anti-virus software.
- Check into deploying Microsoft Azure Sentinel to manage your company’s security events.
Learn how Microsoft transitioned to modern access architecture with Zero Trust.
Find out more on how Microsoft applied its Zero Trust security model.
