Microsoft responded to a Chinese government hack that compromised more than 60,000 of its customers by expanding operations in the repressive regime.
Microsoft acknowledged on March 2 that Chinese “state-sponsored” hackers used vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange’s software to install malware and access the emails of thousands of victims. The tech company has nevertheless barreled forward in its Chinese business plan, announcing on March 4 that it will expand its cloud computing service Azure. The move is meant to “empower” Chinese citizens, who live in a country with some of the most heavily censored and monitored webspace in the world.
“Our intelligent, trustworthy, and neutral cloud platform has been empowering hundreds of thousands of developers, partners, and customers from both China and the world to achieve more with technical innovation and business transformation,” Alain Crozier, Microsoft’s head for the Greater China Region, said in a statement.
The Azure expansion is the latest sign that the Chinese hacking campaign has had little impact on Microsoft’s decades-long relationship with China. The U.S.-based tech company has outsourced a large portion of its research and development department to the authoritarian country, where it has had a presence since 1992. The company also partnered with a Chinese military university to conduct research into artificial intelligence.- READ MORE
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