Top-secret Cloud Platform for Classified Data from Microsoft

Microsoft revealed the launch of its newest cloud offering, Azure Government Top Secret, at the beginning of the month (April, 2020). For its US government clients who deal with classified information, Microsoft has customized Azure Government Top Secret.

The new cloud service extends Microsoft’s tactical edge portfolio for the US government, including Azure (public cloud), Azure Government, and Azure Government Hidden.

Azure Government Top Secret is claimed to have the same functionality as the commercial edition of Azure, Azure Government and Azure Government Secret to enable a continuum of project cloud computing to the tactical edge.

“The consistency between Azure (commercial), Azure Government, and Azure Government Secret is also starting to change the game as software development may happen from anywhere, while the code itself can be promoted to enclaves with higher classification levels. There it can interact with data of higher classification levels. At the end of the day, this means doing more for the mission at a lower overall cost,” said Carroll Moon, CTO of CloudFit Software.

In the classified space, the wide range of services can meet the demand for higher performance, particularly the need to gain deeper insights from data sourced from any location, as well as the need to allow remote work to grow rapidly.

Microsoft is collaborating with the US government, according to sources, to obtain accreditation for its new cloud. In the meantime, the building of the Top Secret regions of the Azure Government has already been completed.

Microsoft has also announced upgrades to its Azure Government Secret service, which the US Department of Defense, law enforcement, and other agencies have approved and actively used.

Azure Government Secret will now add Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and Azure Container Instances, according to Microsoft. The enhancements aim to allow developers of software to more effectively deploy and manage containerized applications.

Azure Sentinel and Azure Security Center are now now available in Azure Government Secret for intelligent security analytics services, allowing unified security across digital properties and promoting proactive threat management.