Microsoft launches Brazil Transparency Center to serve governments in Latin America

Brasília – October 19, 2016 – Microsoft launched in Brasília (DF) its first Transparency Center in Latin America. The facility promotes trusted and safe computing, a critical point for digital transformation, and serves the specific security needs of public sector. There are Microsoft Transparency Centers covering four regions in the world. The first was launched in 2014 in Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, for North America. The next year, in Europe, the Transparency Center opened in Brussels, Belgium, and in the beginning of October a combined Transparency and Cyber Security Center was launched in Singapore, to support the Asia and Pacific region. Now, in Brazil, the new Transparency Center will serve governments of several countries in Latin America, including Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. A Transparency Center in Beijing, China, was also announced in September.

The following local authorities attended the event of Transparency Center opening in Brasília: the Brazil Acting President, Rodrigo Maia; Maximiliano Martinhão, Secretary of IT Policy; the Minister of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications, Gilberto Kassab; the Secretary of Information Technology of Ministry of Planning, Development and Management, Marcelo Pagotthi; the Distrito Federal Governor, Rodrigo Rollemberg; the substitute Minister of Federal Court of Accounts, Weder de Oliveira; and the Operations Director of SERPRO, Iran Martins Porto Jr, representing the SERPRO President, Maria da Glória Guimarães dos Santos.

The Microsoft Transparency Centers are a cornerstone of Microsoft’s long-standing Government Security Program (GSP), and an essential pillar of our commitment to the integrity of our products and services. Nearly 40 countries and international organizations, including Brazil, currently participate in the Microsoft GSP program, which offers participating government agencies the opportunity to review source code of Microsoft’s products to attest to their security and reliability. The program also allows governments to access to important cybersecurity-related information from Microsoft programs focused on intelligence, malware protection and security to combat cybercrime.

A protocol of intentions to join the Government Security Program has been signed by Mr. Marcelo Pagotti, Secretary of Information Technology of the Ministry of Planning, Development and Management, extending the partnership with Brazilian public organizations.

“Our Microsoft Transparency Center in Brazil will serve the wider Latin America and Caribbean countries, and advances our responsibility and commitment to drive transparency, privacy & control, security and compliance for our technologies. It is part of the Microsoft Government Security Program, that aims to collaborate to protect citizens, public services and national infrastructure from cybercrime threats and to accomplish a key role to protect, detect and respond to digital threats,” says Toni Townes-Whitley, corporate vice-president, Worldwide Public Sector, Microsoft Corporation.

Many sources of important cybersecurity-related information from Microsoft previously provided under the Cyber Threat Intelligence Program (CTIP), the Security Cooperation Program (SCP), the Microsoft Malware Protection Center, and through the Microsoft Security Response Center, are now combined under the GSP. Microsoft’s commitment to transparency and security of our products and services is fundamental to our dedication to build and maintain customer trust.

“As governments, enterprises and citizens in the region embrace digital transformation, and in the face of rising cyberattack sophistication, cybersecurity is mission-critical. Our mission is to empower every user and organization on the planet to achieve more and in order to do these users must trust the technology they use. Microsoft is committed to providing a trusted cloud and our unique threat intelligence innovations and trusted cloud ecosystem offers powerful protection against security threats. We also empower governments to investigate, disrupt and prosecute global cybercriminal networks”, says Cesar Cernuda, president for Microsoft Latin America.