Microsoft has announced that its artificial intelligence services, powered by OpenAI and integrated into Azure, have been cleared for use at the highest impact level classification for the Defense Department. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) granted the authorization, making Azure OpenAI Service available for workloads at Impact Level 6. This clearance brings Microsoft’s AI capabilities to all U.S. government data classification levels.
The authorization, initially granted in early February, allows federal workers and their partners to deploy Microsoft’s AI tools for various mission needs. The available AI tools include OpenAI’s large language models, Microsoft’s speech recognition, translation, text classification, and entity extraction capabilities.
Key Authorizations
Microsoft Azure’s AI products now have the following government cloud permissions:
- FedRAMP High
- Department of Defense Impact Levels 2-6 (DOD IL2-6)
- Top secret work at the ICD503 level
These authorizations enable federal workers and their partners to use Microsoft’s AI tools for a diverse range of mission requirements. Microsoft has been working to get its AI software products approved for government cloud integration over several years. In May 2024, the company confirmed the availability of ChatGPT-4 in the Azure Government Top Secret Cloud.
“Microsoft is committed to providing U.S. government customers and their partners with access to highly resilient and secure AI capabilities through Azure’s commercial, U.S. government, and classified clouds,” the company stated in a blog post. The capabilities are seen as critical to transforming America’s AI advancements into next-generation military and national security capabilities.
