Arthur McMiler
Azure OpenAI and Azure Machine Learning, plus 24 other Microsoft products, have been cleared for use under the Intelligence Community Directive, or ICD, 503. Issued by the director of national intelligence in 2008, the directive serves as the Intelligence Community’s guidance for risk management and certification of information systems.
The products’ generative artificial intelligence shortens time-consuming tasks and enhances national security customers’ productivity, Douglas Phillips, Microsoft corporate vice president, said in a blog post Thursday. He added that through the platforms, users can benefit from co-reasoning with AI to process vast amounts of information for insights and recommendations. The Microsoft products can also spot and encode patterns and anomalies to fast-track analysis, detection and simulation, for a better understanding of complex scenarios, Phillips said.
LLM Development Tool
The Azure ML’s ICD 503 authorization specifically enables users to train, use and manage open-source models or develop their own large language models. Besides Azure Open Ai and Azure ML, the other ICD 503-authorized Microsoft products include: Azure Database for PostegreSQL and Azure Database, Microsoft Entra Domain Services, Microsoft Graph and Power BI.
Phillips assured that with the ICD 503 clearance, Azure OpenAI users’ data within the government’s top-secret environment remain secure as in any Azure environment.
In August 2024, Azure OpenAI was approved as a service within Azure Government, following a High Authorization rating under the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program.
