Security News > 2021 > March > Microsoft promises end-to-end encrypted Teams calls for some, invites you to go passwordless with Azure AD

Microsoft has said it will add end-to-end encryption for some one-to-one Teams calls later this year - and urged folks to move away from using passwords with Azure AD. The Teams improvements, announced at the tech giant's Ignite conference this week, will be available "To commercial customers in preview in the first half of this year."

Video conferencing rival Zoom offers end-to-end encryption with a few caveats and additional steps, and that appears to be more or less the approach Microsoft will take, too.

Microsoft also said passwordless authentication in Azure Active Directory is now generally available.

"When there's passwords there is inherent risk to the organization," Microsoft's VP of security, compliance, and identity marketing Vasu Jakkal told Yahoo! "It's a long journey but we do hope that passwordless is going to be a norm. It is a safer way to do things and so the more we can all embrace that I think the more we can protect ourselves and our organizations."

Microsoft supports a bunch of passwordless authentication solutions, such as its own Windows Hello facial recognition, fingerprint readers similar to many modern mobile phones, its Microsoft Authenticator app that provides a time-limited login authorization code, and physical things like USB fobs that use the FIDO security standard.

PS: Microsoft also made its enterprise-grade Power Automate Desktop tool free for Windows 10 users.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/03/03/microsoft_ups_security/