Microsoft has revealed it will be hosting a major security event that will see it reveal more about the recent CrowdStrike outage – but only to a select audience
The company will be joined by CrowdStrike at its Windows Endpoint Security Ecosystem Summit, set to be held at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond on September 10.
The event will mark the first time the two companies have jointly spoken publicly about the outage, which took millions of devices offline and caused havoc for organizations across the globe.
Microsoft security event
The event will also see “key partners who deliver endpoint security technologies” come together for “discussions about improving resiliency and protecting mutual customers’ critical infrastructure”, Aidan Marcuss, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Windows and Devices, said in its official announcement.
“Our objective is to discuss concrete steps we will all take to improve security and resiliency for our joint customers.”
Government representatives will be invited alongside other technology firms, Microsoft says – however it seems the content of the event will remain under wraps, with Marcuss’ announcement stating the company will only share updates on the conversations being had after the event.
Marcuss added the CrowdStrike outage offered “important lessons” for Microsoft to apply as an ecosystem, and that discussions will be themed around, “improving security and safe deployment practices, designing systems for resiliency and working together as a thriving community of partners to best serve customers now, and in the future.”
The event will be watched keenly around the world, as there are still a number of questions awaiting answers following the July 2024 outage. Top of the list will be precise details on how the outage was able to affect so many devices around the world, and what the two companies plan to do to ensure such an incident never occurs again.
There is also interest in exactly how many devices were affected, after Microsoft walked back on its initial estimate, and what the company is doing to reduce its reliance on singular security firms.
