Microsoft has announced a comprehensive cybersecurity program that will provide free AI-powered defense tools to European governments facing increasing attacks from Russian, Chinese, Iranian, and North Korean state-sponsored hackers.
The European Security Program, unveiled in Berlin by Microsoft Vice Chair Brad Smith, will offer threat intelligence, automated attack disruption, and investigative support to all 27 EU member states, plus the UK, the EU accession countries, and European Free Trade Association members at no cost.
“Ransomware groups and state-sponsored actors from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea continue to grow in scope and sophistication, and European cyber protection cannot afford to stand still,” Smith wrote in a blog post.
The program represents an expansion of Microsoft’s existing Government Security Program and implements one of five European Digital Commitments the company made in Brussels five weeks ago.
Rising threat environment
Microsoft’s move comes as the company documents persistent threat activity targeting European networks. Russian operators remain focused on Ukraine and European nations supporting Ukraine’s defense efforts, while Chinese threat actors have launched systematic campaigns against academic institutions and think tanks.
The threat landscape has grown more complex with AI entering cybersecurity operations. Microsoft now tracks threat actors using AI for reconnaissance, vulnerability research, social engineering, and brute force attacks.
“Microsoft has observed AI use by threat actors for reconnaissance, vulnerability research, translation, LLM-refined operational command techniques, resource development, scripting techniques, detection evasion, social engineering, and brute force attacks,” Smith added.
Three-component strategy
The European Security Program will operate through three main components designed to strengthen continental cyber defenses.
The first element centers on enhanced threat intelligence sharing, where Microsoft will provide European governments with AI-enhanced, real-time insights into nation-state tactics.
The company’s Digital Crimes Unit will expand intelligence sharing through the Cybercrime Threat Intelligence Program, giving European partners immediate access to takedown operations and threat actor movements, the blog added.
The program’s second component focuses on strengthening cybersecurity capacity through direct collaboration. Microsoft is embedding its investigators inside Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre in The Hague through a pilot program that will create joint investigation capabilities. The company has also renewed its partnership with the CyberPeace Institute, deploying nearly 100 Microsoft volunteers to defend vulnerable targets.
The third element involves expanding disruption partnerships through the Statutory Automated Disruption Program, launched in April 2025. This system automatically triggers legal abuse notifications to hosting providers, rapidly dismantling malicious domains and IP addresses across Europe and the US.
Each participating government will receive a dedicated Microsoft point of contact to coordinate responses and escalate concerns.
Strategic and competitive implications
Industry analysts view the program as strategically significant beyond cybersecurity. Praharsh Srivastava, senior analyst at Everest Group, said Microsoft’s initiative positions the company “ahead of rivals like Google Cloud, AWS, and IBM” while building long-term government relationships that “may drive future commercial gains through paid services, cloud adoption, and AI solutions.”
Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst at Greyhound Research, described the program as “a strategic escalation in the platform wars, where cybersecurity is no longer a revenue line — it is a loyalty lock.”
“By embedding premium services—from forensic investigations to national-level threat coordination—into a zero-cost model, Microsoft is not just displacing point solution vendors. It’s solidifying its claim as a foundational infrastructure partner,” Gogia said.
Track record of operations
Microsoft brings substantial experience to the initiative. The company has conducted seven legal actions against nation-state threat actors since 2016, targeting groups it internally codes as Blizzard (Russia), Typhoon (China), Sandstorm (Iran), and Sleet (North Korea).
Recent operations demonstrate this capability. In September 2024, Microsoft disrupted Russian group Star Blizzard’s activities, seizing over 140 malicious domains and forcing the group to abandon established attack methods.
Last month, the company worked with Europol to take down the Lumma infostealer malware, neutralizing nearly 400,000 infected devices and seizing over 2,300 command-and-control domains.
Digital sovereignty and operational challenges
The program, however, raises questions about European digital sovereignty and operational complexity. Srivastava noted that while Microsoft’s initiatives offer immediate cybersecurity benefits, they “intersect with the EU’s emphasis on digital sovereignty and may increase dependency on non-European providers.”
Gogia highlighted coordination challenges across Europe’s diverse landscape. “There is no common legal backbone across EU states for defining, reporting, or remediating cyber threats,” he observed. “What counts as a critical incident in one country may not even trigger an alert in another.”
The program arrives as European policymakers implement comprehensive cybersecurity frameworks, including the EU’s Network and Information Security Directive and the proposed Cyber Resilience Act. Microsoft said it will make the program available immediately to eligible European governments. The initiative extends beyond immediate threat response to include investments in cybersecurity research, talent development, and open-source security improvements.
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