Microsoft Battles Cybersecurity Storm and Exits Digital Entertainment Arena

As of last week, Microsoft (MSFT) experienced a slight decrease of 0.32%, although it saw an increase of 1.34% over the past week and has risen by 21.49% since the beginning of the year. Currently, its latest market value stands at $3.7909 trillion.

Microsoft Inc. has faced significant challenges as its server software becomes the target of an unidentified hacker assault. Cybersecurity analysts are sounding the alarm about the potential for a widespread security breach on a global scale. In response, Microsoft has released a new security patch for its SharePoint servers to mitigate these active attacks targeting on-premises servers and announced additional fixes will be deployed soon.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency confirmed the existence of this vulnerability, highlighting that it could allow hackers to access file systems, internal configurations, and execute code across networks. Researcher Silas Cutler from Michigan-based cybersecurity firm Censys estimated that over 10,000 companies worldwide using SharePoint servers are at risk, with the United States being the most affected, followed by the Netherlands, the UK, and Canada. He described the situation as a "ransomware operator's dream." Palo Alto Networks also issued warnings about the severe threat posed by these real-world exploits.

Microsoft's recent challenges are part of a series of cyberattacks targeting the company. Earlier in March, Microsoft had warned about Asian hackers focusing on remote management tools and cloud applications to spy on U.S. and international businesses and organizations.

In a different arena, Microsoft is actively engaging with regulatory frameworks and has shown a willingness to align with the EU's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act. The company's EU President has expressed potential support for adopting the voluntary AI code of conduct which aims to help companies comply with the AI Act. This initiative seeks to provide legal certainty by requiring participating enterprises to disclose summaries of training data for general AI models and develop policies in line with EU copyright law.

Moreover, Microsoft recently announced the impending closure of its "Movies & TV" store, ending its venture into the digital entertainment sales space. This store had been operational since 2012, allowing users to rent or purchase high-definition movies and TV shows. Despite the ambitious entry into the digital media market to rival platforms like iTunes Store and Amazon Prime Video, the service will no longer offer new content purchases through the Microsoft Store or Xbox applications. Users can still access previously purchased content on their devices, but this strategic withdrawal marks an end to Microsoft's presence in the competitive streaming industry.