14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is one of the companies that have been involved in government snooping scandals, so Redmond is making serious efforts to prove consumers that they’re not disclosing any of their details to intelligence agencies.
The software giant has announced at the Munich Security conference the opening on an international Transparency Center in Brussels that would help government customers review source code and thus make sure that no backdoors are being used to collect private data.
“The Brussels center will build upon on our long-standing program that provides government customers with the ability to review our source code, reassure themselves of its integrity and confirm there are no back doors. It is my hope to open the Brussels Transparency Center by the end of this year,” Matt Thomlinson, vice president of Microsoft Security, explained.
At the same time, Microsoft announced that it would continue efforts to encrypt customer data as it moves between data centers in a similar manner as other tech companies, including Google and Facebook.
“While there is much that industry can do to help protect the privacy of our customers, the way forward will not only require technical solutions, it needs to be accompanied by effective policies,” Thomlinson continued.
“The private sector has highlighted the need for basic global principles for reforming international government surveillance. Government and the private sector must work together to move us from this current crisis of trust to a new era of confidence in cyberspace.”
Microsoft is also one of the firms that have asked the US government for permission to share more details on the requests it received for user data, while also emphasizing that it doesn’t provide US intelligence agencies with unlimited access to its databases, despite reports coming from Germany and China that its software contains backdoors to quickly access private details and past activity information.