The CEOs of the largest digital businesses in the country were invited to the White House by President Joe Biden in the summer of 2021.
After the government was rocked by a string of cyberattacks connected to China, Russia, and Iran, the administration requested the leaders of Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and other companies to make firm promises to support the United States in strengthening its defenses.
Biden addressed the businessmen assembled in the East Room, “I think you have the ability, the responsibility, and the power to raise the bar on cybersecurity.”
Compared to most, Microsoft had more to prove.The so-called SolarWinds incident, in which Russian state-sponsored hackers stole confidential information from federal agencies, including the National Nuclear Security Administration, was one of the intrusions that had first triggered the summit and was partly caused by its own security flaws. Some members of Congress claimed the corporation should give its clients stronger cybersecurity after the hack was discovered. Others went farther. The Senate’s finance committee is chaired by Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden, who urged the government to “reevaluate its dependence on Microsoft” before giving it any further contracts.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella promised to provide the government with $150 million in technical services to help improve its digital security in response to the president’s appeal for assistance.
On the surface, it appeared to be a typical case of damage control by the biggest software firm in the world and a political victory for the Biden administration.
However, a ProPublica investigation has discovered that Microsoft’s ostensibly simple commitment concealed a more intricate, profit-driven objective. In actuality, the idea was a well-thought-out business move intended to increase the company’s control over federal business, box competitors out of valuable government contracts, and generate billions of dollars in additional revenue.
Microsoft experts would be sent throughout the federal government to install the company’s cybersecurity solutions, which were given away for free for a limited period of time as part of the White House Offer, as it was called within the company.
According to former Microsoft employees involved in the effort, who spoke mostly on condition of anonymity out of concern for their careers, federal customers would be effectively locked in once the consultants installed the upgrades because switching to a competitor after the free trial would be difficult and expensive. The customer would be forced to pay the increased subscription costs at that moment.
