Microsoft Faces Scrutiny as US Inquiry Examines Government Email Breach

Microsoft Corp's MSFT role in a recent breach of government officials' email accounts will be part of a U.S. cyber inquiry.

The cybersecurity advisory panel will investigate cloud computing risks, encompassing the software maker's role in the breach by suspected Chinese hackers.

Also Read: Microsoft Blames Chinese Hackers for Spying on Critical American Infrastructure and Guam

The Biden administration's Cyber Safety Review Board will broadly focus on risks to cloud computing infrastructure, including identity and authentication management. It will examine all relevant cloud service providers, Bloomberg cites a Department of Homeland Security official. 

In July, Senator Ron Wyden wrote to the Attorney General Merrick Garland, Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly to investigate Microsoft and bring it into books for its sloppy cybersecurity practices.

Microsoft is amid growing scrutiny from computer security experts and government agencies over its customer protection policies against breaches. 

The Microsoft email hack occurred weeks before Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to China to meet President Xi Jinping. The hackers got into the networks via a Microsoft consumer signing key, allowing them to access officials' emails.

Wyden has also called for investigating the so-called SolarWinds Corp SWI attack, emphasizing Microsoft's lack of accountability. Russian state-sponsored hackers compromised the federal government and private sector computer networks in the 2020 attack.

From September, Microsoft agreed to make 31 critically important security logs accessible to the company's lower-cost cloud services licensees. It also looked to increase the retention duration for security logs from 90 to 180 days.

Price Action: MSFT shares traded lower by 0.50% at $321.33 premarket on the last check Friday.