Every Microsoft employee is now being judged on their security work

2 months ago

Microsoft made it clear earlier this year that it was planning to make security its top priority, following years of security issues and mounting criticisms. Starting today, the software giant is now tying its security efforts to employee performance reviews.

Kathleen Hogan, Microsoft’s chief people officer, has outlined what the company expects of employees in an internal memo obtained by The Verge. “Everyone at Microsoft will have security as a Core Priority,” says Hogan. “When faced with a tradeoff, the answer is clear and simple: security above all else.”

A lack of security focus for Microsoft employees could impact promotions, merit-based salary increases, and bonuses. “Delivering impact for the Security Core Priority will be a key input for managers in determining impact and recommending rewards,” Microsoft is telling employees in an internal Microsoft FAQ on its new policy.

Microsoft has now placed security as one of its key priorities alongside diversity and inclusion. Both are now required to be part of performance conversations — internally called a “Connect” — for every employee, alongside priorities that are agreed upon between employees and their managers.

“It goes beyond compliance, as we are asking employees to prioritize security in all the work that they do and hold themselves accountable by capturing their impact for it whenever they complete a Connect,” reads Microsoft’s FAQ.

Microsoft employees will have to demonstrate how they’ve made impactful security changes. For technical employees, that means incorporating security into product design processes at the start of a project, following established security practices, and making sure products are secure by default for Microsoft’s customers.

All Microsoft employees are expected to use the company’s Connect tool for performance reviews, including executives who will also have their own security priority to deliver on. Microsoft has already been overhauling its security efforts as part of a Secure Future Initiative (SFI) to better protect Microsoft’s networks, production systems, engineering systems, and much more.

A lot of Microsoft’s security changes internally haven’t been public-facing, but some have impacted products like Outlook. Microsoft is ending support for Basic Authentication for Outlook personal accounts in September, and it’s removing the light version of the Outlook web application on August 19th.

Outlook.com, Hotmail, and Live.com users will need to access their email accounts through apps using Modern Authentication on September 16th, potentially impacting some third-party email apps and older versions of Outlook, Apple Mail, and Thunderbird.

Here is Hogan’s full memo:

At Microsoft, we deliver mission-critical infrastructure that the world depends on to achieve more. With that trust in us comes a great responsibility: to protect our customers, our company, and our world from cyber threats. As Microsoft employees, we all have a role in that responsibility.

As Satya referenced in his May 3 email and again during his FY25 kick off on July 9, security is our number-one priority, and everyone at Microsoft will have security as a Core Priority. When faced with a tradeoff, the answer is clear and simple: security above all else. Our commitment to security is enduring. New and novel attacks will require us to continue to learn, innovate, and defend. Yet working together, we will make nonlinear improvements, stay alert, and meet the expectations of our customers. They are counting on us, and our future depends on their trust.

Our new Security Core Priority reinforces our commitment to security and holds us accountable for building secure products and services. It is now available in the Connect tool for most employees, and we are partnering with geo HR teams to expand access to all employees globally. The Security Core Priority is not a check-the-box compliance exercise; it is a way for every employee and manager to commit to—and be accountable for—prioritizing security, and a way for us to codify your contributions and to recognize you for your impact. We all must act with a security-first mindset, speak up, and proactively look for opportunities to ensure security in everything we do.

The core priority will have two parts:

Core and common elements that apply to all employees

An optional section for employees to further specify how they will activate the Security Core Priority based on their role, team, org, etc.

All employees will set their Security Core Priority as part their first FY25 Connect, with the intent that during regular Connect conversations, you and your manager will discuss your Security Core Priority progress and impact. This process will follow the same approach as our other company-wide core priorities for Diversity & Inclusion and Managers. You can learn more about the Security Core Priority here, including FAQs and Security Core Priority activation examples for three main types of roles: technical, customer and partner-facing, and all other roles.

As we kick off our 50th year as a company, I know we all feel honored and humbled that we are still here—as a relevant and consequential company—pursuing our mission together. When we empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more, we take on society’s biggest challenges and empower the world. What a big, bold, and meaningful mission we have, and yet none of us can take this for granted. We are here because our customers trust us, and we must continue to earn their trust every day.

Thank you for your commitment to our Security Core Priority that will help protect Microsoft, our customers, and our partners.

Kathleen

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