Microsoft has announced a new partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the research and development division of the US Department of Defense.

The collaboration is intended to support contestants participating in DARPA's ongoing AI Cyber Challenge.

Microsoft's participation in the DARPA AI Cyber Challenge was outlined in a blog post on Monday by the company's Chief Technology Officer, Strategic Missions And Technologies, William Chappell

Chappell highlights in the blog post the company's commitment to leveraging the latest AI models through its Azure cloud services to empower contestants.

The challenge, detailed on AI Cyber Challenge's official website, presents a two-year competition calling upon top AI and cybersecurity experts to devise systems aimed at safeguarding critical infrastructure across the United States.

"Innovation with AI and cybersecurity is even more important for areas like critical infrastructure where the stakes are the highest," Microsoft stated in its blog post, citing increasing infrastructure attacks witnessed in regions such as Ukraine.

The company emphasized its dedication to supporting initiatives like the AI Cyber Challenge to bolster the nation's defence against cyber threats targeting critical infrastructure, ranging from financial systems to public utilities.

As part of its involvement, Microsoft will provide participating teams with up to $150,000 worth of Azure credits, in addition to $200,000 worth of Microsoft business products.

The competition will unfold in two phases over the course of two years. The first phase is set to conclude at the 2024 DEF CON security conference scheduled for August 8-11 in Las Vegas.

During this phase, DARPA will select the top seven teams as semi-finalists, with each team receiving a prize of $2 million.

The seven semi-finalist teams will then advance to the second and final phase of the DARPA AI Cyber Challenge, culminating in the announcement of the winners at the 2025 DEF CON conference.

The champion team will be awarded $4 million, followed by $3 million for the second-place team and $1.5 million for the third-place team.