Microsoft will host the Windows Endpoint Security Ecosystem Summit on September 10 at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington. This event will bring together Microsoft, CrowdStrike, and other key players in the endpoint security field to explore strategies for strengthening the resilience and protection of critical infrastructure for their shared customers.
This summit follows a notable outage experienced by CrowdStrike in July 2024, underscoring the urgent need for enhanced security measures across the industry. The gathering will focus on deriving lessons from this incident to improve security practices, ensure safe deployment methods, and design systems with increased resilience.
Microsoft aims to create a collaborative space where industry partners can work together to advance customer protection and security. Government representatives will also attend to promote transparency and a collective commitment to secure and dependable technology solutions.
According to an anonymous executive speaking to CNBC, a key topic of discussion will be the benefits of applications running in Windows’ user mode as opposed to kernel mode. The July outage was linked to CrowdStrike’s agent operating in kernel mode, where it had unrestricted access to system resources. In contrast, user mode applications are more isolated, reducing the risk of system-wide issues in case of failure.
The summit is anticipated to lead to actionable initiatives and strategies to enhance security and resilience both immediately and in the long term. Microsoft will provide updates on the outcomes of the summit after the event.
