Microsoft President Brad Smith will testify before a House of Representatives panel on homeland security on Thursday, fielding questions about the company’s security practices after Russian and Chinese hackers breached its systems over the past year.
China-linked hackers stole 60,000 U.S. State Department emails last year by breaking into the tech giant’s systems, while a Russian group spied on Microsoft’s senior staff emails earlier this year, according to the company’s disclosures.
In a scathing report in April, the Cyber Safety Review Board - formed by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas - slammed Microsoft for its lack of transparency over the Chinese hack, which the board said had been preventable.
Good, Microsoft needs to face the consequences caused by their preventable security lapses. Keeping corporations honest by punishing their security lapses with strong penalties is needed! Companies and services collect so much personal data that they need to have stronger security to deter malicious actors from attacking their systems. Cybersecurity needs to be made a priority in this age of cyber-terrorism, identity theft, scams, and fraud.