Microsoft faces ongoing, systemic cybersecurity failures rooted in blind spots within its very organizational design. These vulnerabilities repeatedly result in serious product blunders and damaging breaches. This has once again become evident with the continuing Microsoft Recall debacle where an OS feature was not developed with the benefit of security design inputs, that took into account user or attacker behaviors, and a patchwork of controls had to be overlaid to shore up exploitable capabilities.
The Microsoft Recall feature, when first announced by company executives, was roasted by the cybersecurity and privacy communities as being seriously dangerous to the users. Recall will run silently in the background to periodically screenshot user activity continuously throughout the day. Initially it was planned to be enabled by default and intended to help forgetful users remember what they were doing if they became distracted or forgetful. The problem being it would capture passwords, crypto keys, conference video images, snapshots of open files, and other sensitive data – which it would store locally. This data would be conveniently indexed and searchable.
What Microsoft didn’t consider that such an aggregation it is a treasure trove for system hackers and rogue admins!
Often focused on secure code and ignoring how their technology may be misused, Microsoft has found itself stumbling again and again. After the Recall backlash, Microsoft again touted how it was brilliant in cybersecurity but would make adjustments. It delayed the release, indicated it was verifying the code security, stated it would no longer be automatically turned on for all users, and then came out with a fix that would filter sensitive information so it would not be captured.
Implementing security after a product is mostly finished is what the industry calls ‘bolt-on’ security efforts. When a product is not architected and engineered with security principles in mind, vendors will often apply patches in hopes of making it secure near or after release. If they didn’t want to invest in security in the beginning, it is no surprise they often seek to apply the smallest investment afterwards, in hopes of quelling fears of insecurity. Such makeshift efforts are substandard. They are the thin veneer attempting to cover up foundational issues.
Now, we find ourselves at a point where Microsoft Recall’s sensitive data filters have finally arrived and could be put to the test - which they failed! It did provide some filtering, but such controls aren’t measured on a curve. They are measured on the failures of their claims and how that risks victimization of the users. Microsoft claims that Recall is safe and private. Testing, as reported by The Register, proves otherwise.
As I have lamented before, Microsoft has brilliant technical security folks who focus on technical vulnerabilities, but lack the strategic cybersecurity leadership and insights to comprehend how their products will be misused and abused in other ways that represent a cybersecurity risk. Microsoft’s security leadership consistently overlooks the behavioral and organizational dynamics that create new cyber risks—leaving fundamental blind spots unresolved. As I have stated before, such grievous problems will continue to persist in seemingly random ways for their products and services, to the vexation of Microsoft executives who remain in denial. The reality is they need better strategic insights, strong influencers, and leaders that will change how products are explored, designed, tested, and supported.
It’s time for Microsoft—and the industry at large—to make security a fundamental pillar, not an afterthought. If you use Microsoft products, check your settings, advocate for change, and demand accountability. Your privacy and security shouldn’t be gambled away by organizational oversight.
Here are some of my previous posts, just in the past year, that highlight Microsoft’s blind-spots. Keep in mind, this is not a complete list of all their systemic cybersecurity problems:
Microsoft in Cybersecurity Leadership Crisis – Open Letter to Satya Nadella
Microsoft’s Recall Feature: Another Systemic Cybersecurity Failure
Microsoft Recall Cybersecurity & Privacy Risks You Need to Know About!
The Dark Side of Microsoft’s New Voice Cloning Feature: Innovation Enabling Risk
Microsoft Listens to Security Concerns and Delays New OneDrive Sync
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