Microsoft Limited Early Access for Chinese Companies to Cybersecurity Vulnerability Notifications
Microsoft has taken a significant step in securing its technology by shutting down transparency centers in China where the government could review the source code of the company's technology. This move aims to prevent hidden "backdoors" that could potentially be exploited.
The tech giant's Active Protections Program (MAPP) has long provided early details about flaws in Microsoft products to security software companies. However, due to an investigation into a potential leak that led to a series of hacks exploiting flaws in SharePoint software, Microsoft has restricted access to advance cybersecurity notifications for Chinese companies.
Instead of providing "proof of concept" code demonstrating flaws, Microsoft will now issue a more general written description to MAPP participants. This change affects countries where vulnerabilities must be reported to governments, including China.
Since at least 2003, Microsoft had permitted access to its source code in China. But since 2012, the company has had a rocky relationship with Chinese network security companies. In that year, Microsoft accused Hangzhou DPtech Technologies Co., a Chinese network security company, of breaching a non-disclosure agreement and exposing a major vulnerability in Windows.
In 2021, Microsoft suspected at least two other Chinese MAPP partners of leaking information about vulnerabilities in its Exchange servers, leading to a global hacking campaign. The MAPP group includes at least a dozen Chinese technology and cybersecurity companies, but specific companies affected by the access restriction were not publicly named.
No one has visited a transparency center in China since 2019, according to Microsoft. The announcement follows a series of cyberattacks blamed on state-sponsored hackers in China that targeted security weaknesses in SharePoint servers. Over 400 government agencies and corporations, including the US's National Nuclear Security Administration, were breached in the SharePoint attacks.
While some see this as a positive move, others question its implications. Dakota Cary, a China-focused consultant at SentinelOne, considers Microsoft's decision to limit Chinese companies' access to cybersecurity information as a "fantastic change." On the other hand, Eugenio Benincasa, a researcher at ETH Zurich's Center for Security Studies, believes there have been suspicions about leaks out of the MAPP program for years, but the current attention on China's cyber operations has likely pressured Microsoft to take action.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington DC was not familiar with the details of Microsoft's changes or suspected leaks from the MAPP program. The photo shows signage for Microsoft Corp. offices in Beijing. (Andrea Verdelli/Bloomberg)
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