Steven Adair, a cybersecurity specialist, was faced with a difficult situation when one of his clients’ email accounts was compromised. Adair, the creator of Volexity and a former NASA cyberdefense employee, conducted an inquiry but was unable to locate any relevant data. The hackers responsible for the an invasion turned out to be the same cyber spies accused by Microsoft of collecting emails from high-ranking US officials. Adair was unable to figure out the scope of the attack owing to a lack of forensic evidence due to the client’s lack of a premium security suite. He now lobbies for Microsoft to supply clients with additional data for free, a movement fueled by government unhappiness with the company’s security standards.
Microsoft’s cloud-based services for email and data storage have risen in popularity, providing cost savings and connectivity with the company’s office programs. Microsoft has also urged users to adopt its security solutions, resulting in clients foregoing duplicate antivirus products. However, competitors are concerned that concentrating so much data and services with one vendor poses a risk. Critics believe that businesses should invest in their own security rather than depending entirely on a single source.
Frustration is growing as a result of Microsoft’s licensing arrangement, which charges a premium for complete forensic logs, which are required for analyzing and investigating breaches. Since the SolarWinds hack in 2020, the topic has been a source of contention between Microsoft and the US government. Adair recognizes Microsoft’s aim to earn from its premium security solution, but believes that better collaboration among the corporation, consumers, and security providers would benefit all parties. He emphasizes the need of increasing the number of eyeballs on cyberthreats and feels that empowering customers and security firms would be the most successful way.
