Microsoft Acknowledges Looking Inside Blogger’s Hotmail Inbox And Reading IM To Track Source Of Leaked Company Information

Microsoft Acknowledges Looking Inside Blogger’s Hotmail Inbox And Reading IM To Track Source Of Leaked Company Information

By Kukil Bora

on March 21 2014 3:32 AM

In addition to the email search, Microsoft also snooped into the instant messages that were exchanged between the employee and the blogger. Reuters

http://www.ibtimes.com/microsoft-acknowledges-looking-inside-bloggers-hotmail-inbox-reading-im-track-source-leaked-company

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) admitted Thursday that it had read the contents of a blogger's Hotmail inbox in an effort to identify an employee who was suspected of leaking confidential company information.

According to John Frank, deputy general counsel for Microsoft, the company “took extraordinary actions in this case,” and would consult an outside attorney to confirm the legality of the action, which came to light as part of a lawsuit filed against a former Microsoft employee, Alex Kibalko, a Russian native based in the company's Lebanon office.

Microsoft claims it found, in September 2012, that Kibalko was allegedly leaking proprietary code from its Windows 8 operating system, which was not yet released at the time, after examining the Hotmail account of the blogger, who later posted screenshots of the unreleased OS on his blog.

“After confirmation that the data was Microsoft's proprietary trade secret, on September 7, 2012, Microsoft's Office of Legal Compliance (OLC) approved content pulls of the blogger's Hotmail account,” according to FBI agent Armando Ramirez, cited by Associated Press.

The email search, which took place months before Ramirez received the results of Microsoft’s internal investigation in July 2013, revealed that Kibalko shared fixes for the Windows 8 RT OS and a software development kit, which could be exploited by hackers to better understand how Microsoft uses product keys to activate software.

In addition to the email search, Microsoft also read instant messages exchanged between Kibalko and the blogger whose identity was not revealed. The company also admitted to scanning through files in Kibalko's cloud-storage account.

A BBC report said Friday that the search by Microsoft was legal because it fell within the company’s terms of service, which allows the company to access information in accounts that are stored on its “Communication Services,” which include email, chat areas, forums and other communication features.

Recently, Microsoft has, along with other technology companies, taken a stand against intrusions into customer accounts, following NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden's disclosure of instances of the U.S. government spying on users’ online activities.

Microsoft Corporation

Hotmail is a webmail service for the Microsoft Corporation.

Note: National Security Agency (NSA) was a grant recipient from the Microsoft Corporation.

Edward Snowden leaked information about the National Security Agency (NSA), and an employee at Booz Allen Hamilton.

Booz Allen Hamilton is a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).

Robert S. Osborne is the EVP & general counsel for Booz Allen Hamilton, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and was a managing director for Booz Allen Hamilton.

Pete Higgins is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and was a group VP for the Microsoft Corporation.

William H. Gates III is a co-founder & technology adviser & director for the Microsoft Corporation, and a co-chair for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Microsoft Corporation was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), and the Center for American Progress.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), the Center for American Progress, the Committee for Economic Development, and the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), the Center for American Progress, the Committee for Economic Development, and the Aspen Institute (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, a supporter for the Center for American Progress, and is a board member for the International Crisis Group.

Christopher Patten was a co-chair for the International Crisis Group, and is the chairman for the BBC Trust.

BBC is the governing body for the BBC Trust.

Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP was a funder for the Center for American Progress, and is the lobby firm for the Boeing Company.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Valerie B. Jarrett is Vernon E. Jordan Jr’s great niece, the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

W. James McNerney Jr. is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and the chairman & president & CEO for the Boeing Company.

Boeing Company is a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).

Barbara G. Fast was a VP at the Boeing Company, a VP for the CGI Group Inc., and is a friend of Keith B. Alexander.

CGI Group Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.

Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.

Donna S. Morea was the EVP for the CGI Group Inc., and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.

Raymond V. Gilmartin is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and was a director at the Microsoft Corporation.

Mary Agnes Wilderotter is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and was a SVP for the Microsoft Corporation.

Keith B. Alexander is a friend of Barbara G. Fast, and director at the National Security Agency (NSA), and a U.S. Army general.

Ann E. Dunwoody is a U.S. Army 4-star general, the commander for the U.S. Army Materiel Command, and a member of the Belizean Grove.

Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody, U.S. Army Materiel Command commanding general

June 2, 2010

http://www.army.mil/article/40211/

Joanne R. Harrell is a member of the Belizean Grove, and a senior director, e-government programs for the Microsoft Corporation.

Kimberly Till is a member of the Belizean Grove, and was a VP for the Microsoft Corporation.

Mary Agnes Wilderotter is a member of the Belizean Grove, and was a SVP for the Microsoft Corporation.

Henrietta Holsman Fore is a member of the Belizean Grove, and a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Belizean_Grove is the equivalent to the male-only social group, the Bohemian Club.

Henry A. Kissinger is a member of the Bohemian Club, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

James S. Crown is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Lester Crown is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Ann McLaughlin Korologos was the chair emeritus at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a director at the Microsoft Corporation.

Mary Agnes Wilderotter was a SVP for the Microsoft Corporation, and is Denise M. Morrison’s sister.

Denise M. Morrison is Mary Agnes Wilderotter’s sister, and a member of the President's Export Council.

W. James McNerney Jr. is the chairman for the President's Export Council, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and the chairman & president & CEO for the Boeing Company.

Boeing Company is a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).

Madelyn Payne Dunham was an aircraft inspector for the Boeing Company, and Barack Obama’s maternal grandmother.

Barack Obama’s maternal grandmother was Madelyn Payne Dunham, and an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.

Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

R. Eden Martin is counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Robert S. Osborne is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and the EVP & general counsel for Booz Allen Hamilton.

Booz Allen Hamilton is a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).

Edward Snowden was an employee at Booz Allen Hamilton, and leaked information about the National Security Agency (NSA).

National Security Agency (NSA) was a grant recipient from the Microsoft Corporation.

Hotmail is a webmail service for the Microsoft Corporation.