Microsoft’s New Security Chief Says It Is Time to Take Shelter in the Cloud

Microsoft Corp.’s new security chief, Charlie Bell, has a message for companies and institutions buffeted by a seemingly never-ending string of cyberattacks: Take shelter in the cloud.

Microsoft has built a $15 billion business—and one of the world’s biggest private cyber armies—to counter cyberattacks, but the storm of threats is expanding. U.S. banks flagged nearly $600 million in ransomware payments during the first six months of 2021, and cybersecurity experts put the cost of that much higher. Corporate and public networks are also under siege from scammers looking to steal their money and government-backed hackers looking to steal their secrets.