Microsoft’s ‘Enviable Advantages’ Cover Up Its Security Failures ⇥ wired.com

Eric Geller, Wired:

Microsoft’s almost untouchable position is the result of several intermingling factors. It is by far the US government’s most important technology supplier, powering computers, document drafting, and email conversations everywhere from the Pentagon to the State Department to the FBI. It is a critical partner in the government’s cyberdefense initiatives, with almost unparalleled insights about hackers’ activities and sweeping capabilities to disrupt their operations. And its executives and lobbyists have relentlessly marketed the company as a leading force for a digitally safer world.

While one part of Microsoft is busy creating headlines for imminent A.I.-powered election propaganda on behalf of the Chinese government, another is failing to protect its own systems from breaches allegedly by Chinese state groups. This is not solely a U.S. problem, either; lots of governments worldwide rely on Microsoft’s products and services.