By Stephen Nellis
SAN FRANCISCO, July 18 (Reuters)
Microsoft has come to a final decision. This is because the same platforms or tools we use to keep connected with friends and family, or in a business setup to make it easy for meetings to go on and save time, could pose a threat to us as well. Unfortunately, the rise and advancement of technology have come with some concerns along the way. Having said that, there is a team behind all these technological developments and platforms. Their duty is to fight against hackers and the leaking of private information and to generally and overall guard and provide information security.
Hegseth evaluates Microsoft’s decision to exclude Chinese engineers from supporting U.S. military systems
Microsoft MSFT.O on Friday said it will stop using China-based engineers to provide technical assistance to the U.S. military after a report in investigative journalism outlet ProPublica sparked questions from a U.S. senator and prompted Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to order a two-week review of Pentagon cloud deals.
The report detailed Microsoft’s use of Chinese engineers to work on U.S. military cloud computing systems under the supervision of U.S. “digital escorts” hired through subcontractors who have security clearances but often lack the technical skills to assess whether the work of the Chinese engineers posed a cybersecurity threat.
Microsoft, a major contractor to the U.S. government, has had its systems breached by Chinese and Russian hackers. It told ProPublica it disclosed its practices to the U.S. government during an authorisation process. This is a good move because it is better to prevent than to regret later when everything just falls apart and gives Microsoft a bad reputation.
This is not an exaggeration, but it matters very much
Cloud computing has become so significant. From catering to what you stream online or on Netflix to protecting financial information for banks, it has helped many organisations with basic technological information on a global scale because of the rapid growth of technology and excessive information consumption, storage and distribution.
Therefore, Microsoft, a huge tech company, provides these cloud computing services, and the company has to ensure everything is in place. Additionally, Microsoft cannot do it alone; it needs help, and this is the part where it has outsourced experts to help maintain, run and safeguard this information. However, if it is now tampered with, they need to act fast because national security and national information are very sensitive.
China’s cyber capabilities are dangerous, but it is time to do away with them for good now
Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican who chairs the chamber’s intelligence committee, wrote in a letter,
“The U.S. government recognizes that China’s cyber capabilities pose one of the most aggressive and dangerous threats to the United States, as evidenced by infiltration of our critical infrastructure, telecommunications networks, and supply chains. The U.S. military “must guard against all potential threats within its supply chain, including those from subcontractors.”
In a video posted on X on Friday, Hegseth said he was initiating a two-week review to ensure China-based engineers were not working on any other cloud services contracts across the Defence Department.
“I’m announcing that China will no longer have any involvement whatsoever in our cloud services, effective immediately,” Hegseth said in the video. “We will continue to monitor and counter all threats to our military infrastructure and online networks.” Hegseth and his security team have seen the need to act fast, as mentioned above, to avoid unnecessary laws, protocols, suing and all that drama if something worse were to happen. It could also lead to China using some confidential information against the U.S., and that is not something we want to hear or see.
GCN.com/Reuters.
