Microsoft announces general availability of Incident Response Retainer service

Microsoft has announced the general availability of Incident Response Retainer, a service that provides prepaid blocks of hours to help you prepare for and respond to cybersecurity attacks.

According to IBM's 2022 Cost of a Data Breach report, organizations with incident response and AI automation were able to identify and contain a breach 28 days faster than the companies that are unprepared to respond, saving USD 3.05 million in costs.

The Microsoft Incident Response Retainer provides a streamlined path for proactive attack preparation, reactive crisis response, and compromise recovery. Flexible delivery options are also available to meet the unique needs of each customer.

Microsoft says that its Incident Response Retainer service provides the fastest response times and direct access to its global team of cybersecurity experts.

In addition, Microsoft is also teaming up with Kivu, a cybersecurity and incident response service provider. The two companies will work together to utilize existing relationships with cyber insurance providers in responding to customers’ cyber incidents.

"Kivu will regard Microsoft as the premier option for post-breach remediation services when Kivu clients need them, and Microsoft will regard Kivu as a trusted partner to handle ransomware negotiations for customers seeking that service," Microsoft wrote in a blog post on Monday.

Commenting on this partnership, Kelly Bissell, Corporate Vice President of Security Services, Microsoft, said, "Our mission is to secure the world so our customers can thrive. Security is a team sport, and incident response is one of the most important areas for industry leaders to come together in collaboration. We look forward to working with Kivu and other partners to help customers be safe and secure against all cyberattacks."