Microsoft lawyer to appear in House committee hearing on cybersecurity
The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security invited Brad Smith, Microsoft’s top lawyer, to attend a proposed hearing on May 22 to discuss the use of the company’s email software that led to emails of U.S. government officials being obtained by hackers, according to CNBC.
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The attack, which was disclosed by Microsoft last summer, involved the email accounts of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo; Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to China; and Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb.
“We’re always committed to providing Congress with information that is important to the nation’s security, and we look forward to discussing the specifics of the best time and way to do this,” a Microsoft spokesperson stated in an email.
The CyberSafety Review reported last month that “Microsoft’s customers would benefit from its CEO and board of directors directly focusing on the company’s security culture.”
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella issued a memo last week instructing employees to focus on security first. Operational changes addressing the issues cited by the independent federal board were announced by the company.
In the letter inviting Smith to the hearing, committee chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., and Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., commended the company’s efforts to revise its security practices, but mentioned that its failure to prevent attacks put Americans at risk.
“Given the gravity of the issues discussed above and the need for thorough examination and oversight, it is critical that you appear before the committee,” they wrote.
