On Microsoft’s Lousy Cloud Security

Federal cybersecurity evaluators in late 2024 expressed serious concerns about Microsoft's cloud security documentation for Government Community Cloud High (GCC High), a product designed to protect sensitive government information. Reviewers cited a 'lack of proper detailed security documentation' and inability to assess the system's overall security posture. Despite these concerns, FedRAMP authorized the product, providing Microsoft's cloud services with official federal cybersecurity approval. The approval included a warning to agencies considering the platform. This governance decision has allowed Microsoft to expand its government cloud business, valued at billions of dollars, while security gaps remain unverified. No specific threat actors or malware were identified in connection with this issue, which centers on documentation and assessment deficiencies rather than active exploitation.

ProPublica has a scoop : In late 2024, the federal government’s cybersecurity evaluators rendered a troubling verdict on one of Microsoft’s biggest cloud computing offerings. The tech giant’s “lack of proper detailed security documentation” left reviewers with a “lack of confidence in assessing the system’s overall security posture,” according to an internal government report reviewed by ProPublica. Or, as one member of the team put it: “The package is a pile of shit.” For years, reviewers said, Microsoft had tried and failed to fully explain how it protects sensitive information in the cloud as it hops from server to server across the digital terrain. Given that and other unknowns, government experts couldn’t vouch for the technology’s security...

Federal cybersecurity evaluators in late 2024 expressed serious concerns about Microsoft's cloud security documentation for Government Community Cloud High (GCC High), a product designed to protect sensitive government information. Reviewers cited a 'lack of proper detailed security documentation' and inability to assess the system's overall security posture. Despite these concerns, FedRAMP authorized the product, providing Microsoft's cloud services with official federal cybersecurity approval. The approval included a warning to agencies considering the platform. This governance decision has allowed Microsoft to expand its government cloud business, valued at billions of dollars, while security gaps remain unverified. No specific threat actors or malware were identified in connection with this issue, which centers on documentation and assessment deficiencies rather than active exploitation. ProPublica has a scoop : In late 2024, the federal government’s cybersecurity evaluators rendered a troubling verdict on one of Microsoft’s biggest cloud computing offerings. The tech giant’s “lack of proper detailed security documentation” left reviewers with a “lack of confidence in assessing the system’s overall security posture,” according to an internal government report reviewed by ProPublica. Or, as one member of the team put it: “The package is a pile of shit.” For years, reviewers said, Microsoft had tried and failed to fully explain how it protects sensitive information in the cloud as it hops from server to server across the digital terrain. Given that and other unknowns, government experts couldn’t vouch for the technology’s security... ProPublica has a scoop : In late 2024, the federal government’s cybersecurity evaluators rendered a troubling verdict on one of Microsoft’s biggest cloud computing offerings. The tech giant’s “lack of proper detailed security documentation” left reviewers with a “lack of confidence in assessing the system’s overall security posture,” according to an internal government report reviewed by ProPublica. Or, as one member of the team put it: “The package is a pile of shit.” For years, reviewers said, Microsoft had tried and failed to fully explain how it protects sensitive information in the cloud as it hops from server to server across the digital terrain. Given that and other unknowns, government experts couldn’t vouch for the technology’s security. […] The federal government could be further exposed if it couldn’t verify the cybersecurity of Microsoft’s Government Community Cloud High, a suite of cloud-based services intended to safeguard some of the nation’s most sensitive information. Yet, in a highly unusual move that still reverberates across Washington, the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP, authorized the product anyway, bestowing what amounts to the federal government’s cybersecurity seal of approval. FedRAMP’s ruling—which included a kind of “buyer beware” notice to any federal agency considering GCC High—helped Microsoft expand a government business empire worth billions of dollars.