How Microsoft Is Improving Website Security With Machine Learning

Microsoft is one of the most well-known technology-based companies in the world. There are over 1.5 billion devices powered by Windows as of the end of 2019. It’s safe to say that Microsoft has taken a proactive approach when it comes to creating new devices and making life easier for developers and consumers. 

Recent developments show that Microsoft is taking their aspirations a step further and now working to improve security for anyone interested in using their software. This new machine learning-powered program is designed to help developers and security experts squash exploits while simultaneously improving consumer trust by providing a consistent, bug-free experience. 

We are going to talk about AI as a security measure, how Microsoft is improving the internet security landscape, the results of their research, and what lies ahead for developers, security experts, and consumers. 

Let’s dive in! 

AI as a Security Measure 

Artificial intelligence has many benefits in our world today, but cybersecurity is up towards the top of the list. AI systems that use machine learning analyze data at an astronomical pace, allowing developers and website owners to see what’s happening everywhere from their eCommerce analytics to the security of their site. 

The issue many developers run into when using machine learning to identify exploits and bugs is there is a more significant margin of error when compared to an analysis by a real security expert. However, it’s hard to deny the speed advantage that AI provides to developers, especially those with small or part-time teams. 

Finding and identifying these errors help keep websites more secure across all platforms. People who own online stores love the speed because it protects their customers, which ensures brand loyalty and promotes social proof if appropriately implemented with security certificates. 

Private developers like using AI as a security measure because it helps them identify errors in their coding or with their software as they are creating something new. The fact that they don’t have to go in and identify every single line of code ensures a fast turn around and a complete final product. 

How Microsoft Is Helping

Microsoft is working on an open-source machine learning software that website owners and developers can use to track and analyze their security. This program is going to change the way that we protect our sites because of the degree of accuracy it’s able to achieve. 

Due to the issue with false flags, Microsoft added two distinct ways to categorize bugs and security flaws. The first part involved feeding the program examples of bugs deemed security issues and non-security issues. When the software read this expert-approved data, it developed a foundation for identifying bugs based on how much they impact the security of a website. 

In other words, if the machine learning programs identify a high-security bug, it will place a custom label, letting you know that an issue needs to be addressed. Interestingly enough, that’s only half of the puzzle. 

Once the issue has been identified, the software will take a look at the severity of the bug. Understanding whether an error is critical or mostly harmless can help businesses and website owners stop business-ending or project-ruining bugs before they escalate. 

Microsoft worked with a large team of security experts and developers to make this software possible. They all contributed data to the program and followed along during every step of the process. Their goal was to create a system that has the accuracy of a security expert with AI program speed. 

What was their conclusion? 

By applying the program to their data, they were able to find and identify security bugs a staggering 99% of the time. It’s also worth noting that their model was also 97% accurate when it comes to labeling critical and non-critical bugs. 

Looking Ahead

The fact that Microsoft was able to squash bugs to this degree is going to be a game-changer for developers around the world. Instead of meticulously analyzing your security data, or relying on an AI software that’s reliable most of the time, but not always, you’ll have a new option. 

There’s no official date for when this program will become open source and available for everyone, however, they did announce plans to upload it for the community. If you’re struggling to keep up with the security of your website and integrity of your code, keep your eyes peeled for this machine learning-based software when it goes live. 

We expect to see this software improve over time, and before long, we will have more control than ever before over our products and websites.