For the first time in its 43-year history, Microsoft has announced a Linux-based operating system.

The company announced its new holistic Azure Sphere(Opens in a new window) platform for end-to-end Internet of Things (IoT) security, which contains three levels: new custom microcontroller chips, the Azure Sphere Security Service for connecting and security IoT devices, and Azure Sphere OS, which runs on a custom Linux kernel.

At the company’s press conference during the RSA security conference in San Francisco, Microsoft President Brad Smith said the company is tackling IoT security at three different levels: silicon, operating system, and cloud. Smith