Redmond says it provides guidance to IT admins

Feb 13, 2015 12:59 GMT  ·  By

Earlier this week, it emerged that Microsoft's Outlook email client for Android and iOS was banned by the European Parliament, as it poses security risks for its members.

In an exclusive statement sent to us this morning, Microsoft confirms that it's working with IT administrators seeking to ban the application to provide the necessary documentation in order to prevent this from happening and promises to improve the security of the app in the coming months.

While Microsoft hasn't specifically mentioned the European Parliament, the company says that addressing all these complaints is a priority, especially because its new approach is based on full transparency of how data is being used.

“Microsoft values the privacy and security of our customers and we are committed to making Outlook for iOS and Android both loved by users and trusted by IT. That means putting customers in control of their data, both through the design of our products and through transparency on how data is used,” a Microsoft spokesperson told us this morning.

New update for the Outlook client

The Outlook email client, which is based on an application developed by the recently purchased Accompli company, is expected to receive more updates in the coming months, as Microsoft is looking to improve the security of the program in order to prevent such complaints from happening again.

Microsoft hasn't provided any details on when exactly this is going to happen, but Outlook will soon arrive on its very own Windows platforms as well, so it's critical to address security complaints before this takes place.

“We are delivering additional security and management features in the coming months. In the meantime, we’ve provided detailed guidance for IT administrators seeking to restrict use of this app at this time in their organizations and the OWA for iPhone/iPad/Android apps will remain in market for customers requiring the advanced Office 365 and Exchange Server features that these apps offer,” the company told us.

The European Parliament required members to remove the email client from their Android and iOS devices because the app can send their passwords and attachments to a cloud-based server which is exclusively controlled by Microsoft.

The Parliament has no access to this data, a notification sent to members this week reads, so unless the email client stops collecting user information, everyone must stop using it.