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| Cyber |
| National security experts raise concerns after Microsoft program exposed as possible avenue for Chinese spying |
| 2025-07-16 |
| [FoxNews] Microsoft defends security after report flags China-based insider risks: 'Asking the fox to guard the henhouse' A new ProPublica report accused Microsoft of allowing China-based engineers to assist with Pentagon cloud systems with inadequate guardrails in an effort to scale up its government contracting business, raising espionage concerns from national security experts. The report cited current and former employees and government contractors who worked on a cloud computing program deployed by Microsoft in 2016 that would allow the tech giant to sell its cloud services to the government, known as a "digital escort" framework. The security measure, meant to meet federal contracting regulations, was effectively a program that included a "digital escort" chaperone for global cybersecurity officials, such as those based in China, so they can work on agency computing systems. Defense Department guidelines require that people handling sensitive data be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. According to sources who spoke to ProPublica, including some who had intimate familiarity with the hiring process for the $18-per-hour "digital escort" position, the tech employees being hired to do the supervising lacked the adequate tech expertise to prevent a rogue Chinese employee from hacking the system or turning over classified information to the CCP. The sources elaborated that the escorts, often former military personnel, were hired for their security clearances more than their technical abilities and often lacked the skills to evaluate code being used by the engineers they were supervising. In China, people are governed by sweeping laws compelling government cooperation with data collection efforts. "If ProPublica’s report turns out to be true, Microsoft has created a national embarrassment that endangers our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. Heads should roll, those responsible should go to prison and Congress should hold extensive investigations to uncover the full extent of potential compromise," said Michael Lucci, the CEO and founder of State Armor Action, a conservative group with a mission to develop and enact state-level solutions to global security threats. "Microsoft or any vendor providing China with access to Pentagon secrets verges on treasonous behavior and should be treated as such." "This is like asking the fox to guard the henhouse and arming the chickens with sticks in case the fox gets mad," Michael Sobolik, a Hudson Institute foreign policy senior fellow, added. "It beggars belief." Microsoft uses its escort system to handle sensitive government information that falls below "classified," which includes "data that involves the protection of life and financial ruin," ProPublica reported. At the Defense Department, the data is categorized as "Impact Level" four and five, which ProPublica reported includes materials directly supporting military operations. A Microsoft spokesperson defended the company's "digital escort" model, saying all personnel and contractors with privileged access must pass federally approved background checks. "For some technical requests, Microsoft engages our team of global subject matter experts to provide support through authorized U.S. personnel, consistent with U.S. government requirements and processes," the spokesperson added. "In these instances, global support personnel have no direct access to customer data or customer systems." Related: ProPublica 07/15/2025 Gavin Newsom Taunts Texas on Redistricting, but Can't Deliver on Threat ProPublica 02/11/2025 CNN's Dana Bash Accuses Elon Musk of Making Money By 'Breaking the Rules' ProPublica 01/15/2025 Summarizing the Confirmation Hearings, Day 1: Trump’s defense secretary pick: ‘I support Israel killing every last member of Hamas’ Related: Microsoft 07/04/2025 Microsoft applies for 6,000 guest worker visas amid mass layoffs Microsoft 07/04/2025 Microsoft Says Its New AI System Diagnosed Patients 4 Times More Accurately Than Human Doctors Microsoft 06/28/2025 Windows 'Screen of Death' Will Change from Blue to Black |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #7 LinkedIN on Indy Crowley |
| Posted by: 3dc 2025-07-16 16:35 |
| #6 More info |
| Posted by: 3dc 2025-07-16 16:26 |
| #5 Microsoft is only partially to blame for this. Whoever it was at the Pentagon who gave a green light to this project needs to be escorted to the parking lot with a pink slip in his, her or its hand. When you can buy mega-terabytes worth of solid state disks, for really cheap, nobody needs any cloud. Nobody. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2025-07-16 13:46 |
| #4 Social Security's online portal going 24/7 in major customer service upgrade for Americans |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2025-07-16 10:24 |
| #3 They can stick Windows-11 up their arses. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2025-07-16 09:57 |
| #2 Cloud systems - what you don't own, you don't control. |
| Posted by: Chicago Lurker 2025-07-16 08:27 |
| #1 Using app's like CCleaner or Privacy Eraser, take a peek at what EDGE, Chrome and other app's collect and pass around. Now imagine a DOD system in use. |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2025-07-16 06:46 |