Microsoft Acquires ReFirm Labs to Enhance IoT Security

By Tiera Oliver

Associate Editor

Embedded Computing Design

June 03, 2021

News

Microsoft Acquires ReFirm Labs to Enhance IoT Security

Microsoft announced that they have acquired ReFirm Labs to enhance firmware analysis and security capabilities across devices that form the intelligent edge, from servers to IoT.

The addition of ReFirm Labs to Microsoft is designed to bring both expertise in firmware security and the Binwalk Enterprise, formerly Centrifuge firmware platform, to enhance the company's ability to analyze and help protect firmware.

ReFirm is the author of the Binwalk open-source software, which has been used to analyze devices for firmware security issues, uncovering unpatched common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs), insecure secrets, and a other security problems in IoT systems and embedded firmware.

Per the company, ReFirm’s firmware analysis technology will advance Microsoft’s existing capabilities to help secure IoT and OT devices via Azure Defender. Together, the companies plan to provide device builders and customers the ability to both discover, protect, and assess device risk both at the firmware and network level, and then patch devices with a cloud-based solution as is explained in this video.

According to Microsoft, this acquisition marks the next step to help secure customers from the chip to the cloud.

For more information, visit: www.microsoft.com/en-us/security 

Tiera Oliver, Associate Editor for Embedded Computing Design, is responsible for web content edits, product news, and constructing stories. She also assists with newsletter updates as well as contributing and editing content for ECD podcasts and the ECD YouTube channel. Before working at ECD, Tiera graduated from Northern Arizona University where she received her B.S. in journalism and political science and worked as a news reporter for the university’s student led newspaper, The Lumberjack.

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