Microsoft's cloud was infiltrated in 2023 by Chinese hackers, and a report outlined security failures that allowed hackers to get in. (Getty Images)
"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."
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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."
The flags of the United States and China flutter at the Fairmont Peace Hotel April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (Wang Gang/VCG via Getty Images)
Microsoft said in response to the recent ProPublica report that it considers "anyone" with access to sensitive government systems, no matter their location or role, a potential risk.
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"We establish layers of mitigation at the platform level with security and monitoring controls to detect and prevent threats. This includes approval workflows for system changes and automated code reviews to quickly detect and prevent the introduction of vulnerabilities," a company spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The spokesperson added that Microsoft adheres to the federal security requirements outlined by the Defense Department and the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, which was established in 2011 to address the risks associated with moving from entirely government-controlled servers, to cloud-based computing.
"This production system support model is approved and regularly audited by the U.S. government," the spokesperson concluded.
Still, if the ProPublica allegations are true, Lucci says the federal government should cease its work with Microsoft.
"If these [ProPublica] allegations are credible, the federal government should never again rely on Microsoft to protect the data that keeps our men and women in uniform safe, especially given Microsoft’s extensive record of being compromised by the CCP," Lucci said Monday. "Our military cannot operate in security and secrecy if a vendor repeatedly and intentionally invites the enemy into the camp."
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nat-sec-experts-raise-concern-over-microsoft-program-exposed-possible-avenue-chinese-spying