Microsoft unveils AI-based Azure Sentinel ahead of RSA

Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -0.17% announced Thursday it was throwing its hat into the AI-based security ring with the release of its Azure Sentinel product ahead of one of cybersecurity's biggest trade shows. In a briefing, Ann Johnson, who heads Microsoft's cybersecurity solutions group, said Azure Sentinel is the first native security information and event management, or SIEM, tool within a major cloud platform. In the push for an AI-based security platform, Johnson once again cited an estimate from research firm Cybersecurity Ventures that the industry faces a shortage of about 3.5 million qualified workers by 2022. Johnson said early adopters of Azure Sentinel have reported an up to 90% reduction of alert fatigue, where already stressed cybersecurity workers find themselves chasing what prove to be false alarms, and that threat-hunting times that used to take hours are being reduced to seconds. The company also announced its Microsoft Threat Experts product within Windows Defender, where users can click the "Ask a Threat Expert" button to submit questions directly to Microsoft staff.