In a new report by TheGuardian, the details of Microsoft's participation in the US government's PRISM program have been put on display like a frog dissected in high school Biology class. The evidence, if true, is damning and can affect every area that Microsoft is currently relying on to revamp its business. Based on the report, it's not really that that the US government has access to Microsoft's resources, but the ease at which they were able to acquire full control over Microsoft's customer information.
The report outlines a huge number of areas where PRISM's tendrils were given almost unobstructed admittance. Some of those areas include Outlook.com, Hotmail, SkyDrive, and Skype. This, while Microsoft continually promoted that they were "…committed to respecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal data, traffic data and communications content."
Read the full report here: How Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages
Maybe I read too much into things, but am I wrong to think there's also a timing issue here? Is this part of a larger plan? Not only does it seem a bit strange to me that Microsoft appears to be the only PRISM-friendly company who has been targeted by the media (for now), but also strange that the report released was so close after a slew of Cloud-related product announcements and directly after Microsoft's reorg news.
Who would benefit most from such a damning report with intricate execution in timing? Why did Eric Snowden release top-secret files on Microsoft first? Did TheGuardian receive information on the other PRISM participants and choose to highlight Microsoft first? Will we find out that Google sponsored Eric Snowden's escape?
Incidentally, Microsoft denied the new report a few hours after it was released, but so far, I've only been able to locate one article related to that: Microsoft Denies New Reports That It Let The NSA Spy On Email And Skype
