Microsoft announces public availability of Azure Sphere, a solution designed to combat escalating threats to billions of IoT devices

About two years ago, Microsoft introduced Azure Sphere, a hardware and service designed to better secure 41.6 billion internet for things (IoT) devices. The program, which includes a Microsoft-developed Linux operating system for microcontrollers, evolved out of a Microsoft Research project, called Project Sopris. Today, Microsoft announced public availability of Microsoft’s Azure Sphere after several years of testing and previews.

“Microsoft’s integrated security solution for IoT devices and equipment—is widely available for the development and deployment of secure, connected devices. Azure Sphere’s general availability milestone couldn’t be timelier. From consumer device hacking and botnets to nation state driven cyberterrorism, the complexity of the landscape is accelerating. And as we expand our reliance on IoT devices at home, in our businesses and even in the infrastructure that supports transit and utilities, cybersecurity threats are increasingly real to individuals, businesses and society at large,” Galen Hunt Distinguished Engineer and Managing Director, Azure Sphere, said in a statement.

Azure Sphere consists of Microsoft-certified microcontrollers — single-chip computers with processors, storage, memory and IoT capabilities — plus the Azure Sphere Linux-based OS and the Azure Sphere cloud security service. The security service provides authentication, threat response, and on-device and application failure information.

Today Azure Sphere—Microsoft’s integrated security solution for IoT devices and equipment—is widely available for the development and deployment of secure, connected devices. Azure Sphere’s general availability milestone couldn’t be timelier. From consumer device hacking and botnets to nation state driven cyberterrorism, the complexity of the landscape is accelerating. And as we expand our reliance on IoT devices at home, in our businesses and even in the infrastructure that supports transit and utilities, cybersecurity threats are increasingly real to individuals, businesses and society at large.

From its inception in Microsoft Research to general availability today, Azure Sphere is Microsoft’s answer to these escalating IoT threats. Azure Sphere delivers quick and cost-effective device security for OEMs and organizations to protect the products they sell and the critical equipment that they rely on to drive new business value.

To mark today’s general availability milestone, I sat down with Galen Hunt, distinguished engineer and product leader of Azure Sphere to discuss the world of cybersecurity, the threat landscape that businesses and governments are operating in, and how Microsoft and Azure Sphere are helping organizations confidently and securely take advantage of the opportunities enabled by IoT.