Microsoft to acquire Miburo to improve cyber threat analysis and response to foreign threat actors

What you need to know

• Microsoft announced plans to purchase Miburo, a cyber threat analysis and research company.
• Miburo and its founder Clint Watts will join Microsoft as part of its Customer Security and Trust Organization.
• The acquisition will aid Microsoft in its efforts to determine "ways in which foreign actors use information operations in conjunction with other cyber-attacks to achieve their objectives."
• Microsoft did not disclose the purchase price of Miburo in its announcement.

Microsoft will acquire Miburo, a cyber threat analysis and research company, for an undisclosed amount. The tech giant announced the news yesterday, June 14, 2022 in a blog post. Miburo specializes in the "detection of and response to foreign information operations," according to the announcement.

Microsoft fights against cyber attacks on a variety of fronts, including the war in Ukraine. Company president Brad Smith outlined some of these efforts earlier this year. The acquisition of Miburo lines up with Microsoft's ongoing efforts in cybersecurity.

"With the acquisition of Miburo, we will continue our mission to take action, and to partner with others in the public and private sectors to find long-term solutions that will stop foreign adversaries from threatening public and private sector customers and, in fact, the very foundations of our democracy," said Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Customer Security Trust Tom Burt.

As part of the purchase, Miburo and its founder Clint Watts will become part of Microsoft's Customer Security and Trust organization. Both will work closely with the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center and Microsoft's Threat Context Analysis team.

Miburo's addition to Microsoft will allow the latter to "expand its threat detection and analysis capabilities to address new cyber-attacks and shed light on the ways in which foreign actors use information operations in conjunction with other cyber-attacks to achieve their objectives."

Miburo's research teams have experience detecting "extremist influence campaigns" in 16 languages.