What We Do

We are a leading security risk analysis and management center that helps protect Microsoft customers by delivering security updates and authoritative security guidance in a timely manner. The Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) identifies, monitors, resolves, and responds to security incidents and Microsoft software security vulnerabilities. The MSRC also manages a company-wide security update release process and serves as the single point of coordination and communications.

The MSRC is on constant alert for security issues, monitors security newsgroups, and responds to e-mail messages that customers send to secure@microsoft.com 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The MSRC focuses on providing customers with timely and authoritative information and by delivering high-quality security updates, and on helping to prevent future issues through security engineering and development changes.

Monitoring and Managing Vulnerabilities

The MSRC receives more than 100,000 e-mail messages per year at secure@microsoft.com.

MSRC staffers read and monitor every e-mail message and are continually on alert for information about newly discovered vulnerabilities.

Independent security researchers from around the world send the e-mail messages because they share a common interest in making software more secure. The MSRC usually answers e-mail messages sent to this address within 24 hours.

For more information, see Monitoring and Managing Security Vulnerabilities.

Releasing Security Updates, Bulletins, Advisories, and More

When the MSRC addresses a vulnerability with a security update, security experts write an accompanying security bulletin, which is released in over 20 languages. This supporting documentation includes a list of frequently asked questions, information about possible workarounds and mitigations, and any other essential information that IT staff may need to resolve the vulnerability. The bulletin and other communications help customers assess risks and respond more effectively.

Through its enhanced and simplified monthly release process, the MSRC delivers advanced resources and extensive guidance, which allows customers to manage their systems more effectively and predictably.

Microsoft releases security bulletins on the second Tuesday (U.S. Pacific Standard Time) of every month, which offers customers a process that is predictable, repeatable, and allows them to plan in advance to deploy updates.

Microsoft Security Advisories, which the MSRC introduced in 2005, are another way Microsoft communicates security information to customers. These advisories call attention to issues that might not be classified as vulnerabilities and might not require security bulletins, but that can still have an effect on customer security.

For more information, see The Security Update Release Cycle.

Responding to Security Incidents: The Software Security Incident Response Process

In addition to managing security vulnerabilities, the MSRC leads an unparalleled worldwide response process, the Software Security Incident Response Process (SSIRP). The SSIRP was designed to help the MSRC quickly gain a thorough understanding of security incidents—situations that arise when malicious users deliberately exploit vulnerabilities—then effectively investigate, analyze, and resolve them.

For more information, see Responding to Security Incidents.

Conducting Technical Investigations: MSRC Engineering

The Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) Engineering is a team of security researchers that conducts detailed technical investigations of Microsoft software security issues. The team also acts as an engineering technical leader for the Microsoft company-wide SSIRP.

The team provides information about mitigations, workarounds for vulnerabilities, and active attacks. It also helps to prevent future problems through security engineering and development changes.

For regularly updated information, see the Microsoft Security Research & Defense blog.