© Provided by CNETAs one of the world's biggest tech companies, Microsoft says we need to take cybersecurity more seriously. Screenshot by Sarah Tew/CNET
Microsoft wants us to work together better to fight cyberattacks. The tech giant's outspoken President, Brad Smith, said companies need to work together more to help protect vital infrastructure, particularly healthcare.
As the coronavirus pandemic's raged around the world, hackers have attacked hospitals, researchers and other health organizations at a time they're needed most, Smith said during a livestream keynote speech at the digital CES Wednesday. Hospitals and health organizations should be considered off-limits, he added.
© James Martin/CNET As one of the world's biggest tech companies, Microsoft says we need to take cybersecurity more seriously.
He also said there are lessons we can pull from real-world attacks over the years. He noted one of the worst attacks on American soil, 9/11, exposed need for government agencies to communicate more, and do it more often. Now, he believes we need to take the same approach with cyberattacks.
"Let's learn from the past," he said. "We need to move -- as the 9/11 Commission said -- from a culture where people only gave others information when they had a need to know. And in the words of that commission, change the culture, so that people feel a need to share."
Smith's comments mark the latest way Microsoft's taking on a leadership role around cybersecurity in the tech world. The company's regularly published blog posts and research around security issues, and it's discussed efforts to take down mass hacking projects around the world.