(Reuters) – Former Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:) cloud executive Charlie Bell said he has joined Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:) to lead a newly formed role overseeing cybersecurity operations.

In a LinkedIn posting, Bell indicated that he will be starting as executive vice president and will deal with ransomware attacks, digital fraud, and public exposure of private information.

Bell’s appointment occurs at a critical time for Microsoft in cybersecurity issues.

The company alerted some Azure cloud computing customers last week that hackers could have gained access to their data due to a security flaw.

Wiz security specialists described in August a vulnerability that would allow one customer access to the Azure cloud platform’s database.

Bloomberg News reports that Bell used to report to Andy Jassy, former Amazon Web Services chief. Bell oversaw engineering teams responsible for AWS’s core software services.

Bell’s career began as a mini-computer programmer who was involved in designing space shuttle payload mix engineering. After his startup was bought by Amazon, he joined Amazon in 1998.

Bell posted on LinkedIn that he was thrilled to be joining Microsoft and take on the biggest challenges of his time, which is leading an engineering company: Security, Compliance, Identity, Management. (https://

Bell will start his role officially once “a resolution is reached with his former employer,” Bloomberg added, citing an email from Nadella. (https://bloom.bg/3Ek8ev8)

Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw, in a statement to Reuters, said, “We’re sensitive to the importance of working through these issues together, as we’ve done when five recent Microsoft executives moved across town to work for Amazon.”

Reuters reached out to Amazon for information about Bell’s job.