Microsoft to warn users about 'nation-state' intrusion

Microsoft has joined other online companies with a new policy alerting users if their accounts are being targeted by governments.
"A key part of our work is identifying and preventing unauthorized access to your Microsoft account (including Outlook.Com email and OneDrive) by anyone other than you," Microsoft vice president Scott Charney said in a blog yesterday.
"We're taking an additional step today. We will now notify you if we believe your account has been targeted or compromised by an individual or group working on behalf of a nation state."
Microsoft said it already notifies users if accounts have been targeted or compromised by a third party but is taking the additional step of letting people know if it is likely that the attacker may be "state-sponsored" because "it is likely that the attack could be more sophisticated or more sustained than attacks from cybercriminals and others," Charney said.

"If you receive one of these notifications it doesn't necessarily mean that your account has been compromised, but it does mean we have evidence your account has been targeted, and it's very important you take additional measures to keep your account secure," he added.
Among the new additions to the Cortana Intelligence

Suite, is the 'Microsoft Cognitive Services', which is a collection of intelligence Application Program Interface (APIs) that allows systems to see, hear, speak, understand and interpret the users' needs using natural methods of communication.
The 'Microsoft Bot Framework', can be used by developers programming in any language to build intelligent bots that enable customers to chat using natural language on a wide variety of platforms including text/SMS, Office 365, Skype, Slack, the Web and more.

Microsoft executives also spoke about 'Seeing AI', a research project under development that shows how new capabilities can help people who are visually impaired or blind better understand who and what is around them. Microsoft released the 'Skype Bot Platform', though which developers can build bots that leverage Skype's multiple forms of communication, including text, voice, video and 3-D interactive characters.
Among the features that will become available this summer when the Windows 10 update becomes broadly available is the new Cortana with features that will enable the user to receive proactive guidance from Cortana throughout the day and speak with the virtual assistant, even while the device is locked, without logging in.

Microsoft also announced it began shipment of the Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition for the first time, "extending the Windows experience to holograms and allowing developers to begin helping build the future of holographic computing".
Microsoft highlighted commercial customers in several industries that are using HoloLens, including NASA. Microsoft further shared all-new capabilities for the Universal Windows Platform, including full access to Cortana's proactive intelligence and the Windows 10 Anniversary SDK, which offers all-new APIs and tools to integrate the latest Windows 10 innovations into apps, including Windows Ink and Windows Hello.