The National Institute of Cyber Security (NICS) and Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Monday, June 8, focusing on threat intelligence, AI-enabled defense, Zero Trust architecture, and deepening cooperation through public-private partnerships. A Microsoft representative said that the company will combine its global threat intelligence network with local intelligence to improve defensive efficiency in the face of new threats from AI.

Microsoft’s North Asia Head of Global Public Affairs, Marcus Bartley Johns, called the MOU a symbolic milestone of Taiwan and Microsoft’s cooperation. He said that cybersecurity requires cross-governmental and cross-organizational collaboration for a strong ecosystem. The AI era now brings enormous opportunity, but also a variety of threats, making it essential to leverage resources to quickly detect weaknesses.

He pointed out that a key area for cooperation is the integration of important intelligence to jointly strengthen defense capabilities. While Microsoft has a global reach, the Taiwanese government and the Taiwan Academic Cybersecurity Center possess important national security-related information.

Microsoft is also testing the use of multi-agent and multi-model architectures to further improve its cybersecurity protection capabilities. 

NICS President Ying-Dar Lin (林盈達) stated that future collaborations will focus on three key technologies: Zero Trust, AI agent management, and strengthening critical infrastructure protection. He said that in an increasingly complex landscape, traditional defensive thinking is not enough. Cooperation with Microsoft will enhance Taiwan’s proactive detection, rapid response, and continuous cybersecurity capabilities.