Latest news with #Azure
See - Sada Elbalad
an hour ago
- Business
- See - Sada Elbalad
Microsoft Bans Chinese Engineers from Pentagon Cloud Operations
Taarek Refaat Microsoft announced on Friday that it has revised its internal practices to stop engineers based in China from providing technical support to U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) cloud clients, according to CNBC. The change comes in response to growing concerns about national security and cybersecurity threats posed by foreign-based personnel working on sensitive U.S. government cloud infrastructure. The announcement follows a detailed report by ProPublica earlier this week revealing the extent of the Pentagon's reliance on Chinese-based Microsoft engineers, particularly those supporting the company's Azure cloud services. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Microsoft's Chief Communications Officer Frank Shaw wrote: 'In response to concerns raised earlier this week regarding foreign engineers under U.S. supervision, Microsoft has made changes to our support for U.S. government clients to ensure that no engineering teams based in China are providing technical support for the Department of Defense cloud or related services.' In 2019, Microsoft secured a $10 billion cloud contract with the Pentagon, although it was canceled in 2021 following legal disputes. A year later, the DoD awarded a combined $9 billion in cloud contracts to Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Oracle. According to ProPublica, Chinese Microsoft engineers working on Azure were under the supervision of U.S.-based "digital escorts", staff with lesser technical expertise tasked with overseeing foreign support teams. The report warned that this arrangement could expose the U.S. to cyber vulnerabilities, especially in light of rising geopolitical tensions with China. read more CBE: Deposits in Local Currency Hit EGP 5.25 Trillion Morocco Plans to Spend $1 Billion to Mitigate Drought Effect Gov't Approves Final Version of State Ownership Policy Document Egypt's Economy Expected to Grow 5% by the end of 2022/23- Minister Qatar Agrees to Supply Germany with LNG for 15 Years Business Oil Prices Descend amid Anticipation of Additional US Strategic Petroleum Reserves Business Suez Canal Records $704 Million, Historically Highest Monthly Revenue Business Egypt's Stock Exchange Earns EGP 4.9 Billion on Tuesday Business Wheat delivery season commences on April 15 News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Arts & Culture "Jurassic World Rebirth" Gets Streaming Date Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Arts & Culture South Korean Actress Kang Seo-ha Dies at 31 after Cancer Battle News "Tensions Escalate: Iran Probes Allegations of Indian Tech Collaboration with Israeli Intelligence" Sports Get to Know 2025 WWE Evolution Results News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BofA Drops Jaw-Dropping Target On Microsoft Stock
Bank of America analyst Brad Sills raised Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) price target to $585 from $515 ahead of the company's fiscal fourth-quarter results, set for July 30. According to partner checks, deal activity appears to be tracking in line with last quarter, with notable strength in Azure momentum. Office performance also looks solid, thanks to ongoing E3 and E5 upgrades and the early rollout of Copilot. Meanwhile, better-than-expected desktop shipments are providing a lift to the mobile personal computing segment. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 7 Warning Sign with MSFT. Sills is modeling full-year fiscal 2026 revenue growth at roughly 14%, with Azure expected to contribute more than 30% of total sales. He also notes that capital spending is stabilizing as a percentage of revenue, while margins are continuing to expand. Investors have already pushed Microsoft shares up about 30% since those partner conversations began. Now, all attention turns to the July 30 earnings report to see if Microsoft can beat expectations and prove that Copilot is a true growth catalyst. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Microsoft changes support policy for US government customers after 'national security threatening report': 'No China-based engineering teams...'
Representative Image Microsoft has introduced changes to its support policy for US government customers. The tech giant has confirmed that "no China-based engineering teams " will provide technical support for US defence clients using its cloud services. This revision follows a report by ProPublica that detailed the US Defence Department's reliance on Microsoft-hired software engineers who are based in China. The report also prompted US Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) to send a letter to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth seeking details of the tech giant's alleged use of Chinese engineers for US military systems, as it raised concerns about potential national security risks. What Microsoft said about changing its US government customer policy In a post shared on the social media platform X (earlier Twitter), Frank Shaw, Microsoft's chief communications officer, wrote: 'In response to concerns raised earlier this week about US-supervised foreign engineers, Microsoft has made changes to our support for US Government customers to assure that no China-based engineering teams are providing technical assistance for DoD Government cloud and related services. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription Techno Mag Learn More Undo We remain committed to providing the most secure services possible to the US government, including working with our national security partners to evaluate and adjust our security protocols as needed.' The ProPublica report noted that Microsoft's Chinese Azure engineers are supervised by US-based 'digital escorts,' who often have less technical expertise than the overseas engineers they oversee. The report suggested that this setup could expose the US to potential cyber threats from China . In a recent video posted on X, Hegseth signed a memo for a review to check if cheap Chinese labour is being used in any other parts of the Defence Department. In the video, he said: ' Earlier this week, we were alerted to a potential vulnerability in our DOD computer systems, and we've been checking into it ever since. It turns out that some tech companies have been using cheap Chinese labour to assist with DOD cloud services. This is obviously unacceptable, especially in today's digital threat environment. Now, this was a legacy system created over a decade ago during the Obama Administration, but we have to ensure the digital systems that we use here at the Defence Department are ironclad and impenetrable, and that's why, today, I'm announcing that China will no longer have any involvement whatsoever in our cloud services effective immediately. And at my direction, the department will also initiate as fast as we can. A two-week review or faster to make sure that what we uncovered isn't happening anywhere else across the DoD. We will continue to monitor and counter all threats to our military infrastructure and online networks.' Philips TAS1209 Review: Why you must get this Bluetooth Speaker AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BofA Drops Jaw-Dropping Target On Microsoft Stock
Bank of America analyst Brad Sills raised Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) price target to $585 from $515 ahead of the company's fiscal fourth-quarter results, set for July 30. According to partner checks, deal activity appears to be tracking in line with last quarter, with notable strength in Azure momentum. Office performance also looks solid, thanks to ongoing E3 and E5 upgrades and the early rollout of Copilot. Meanwhile, better-than-expected desktop shipments are providing a lift to the mobile personal computing segment. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 7 Warning Sign with MSFT. Sills is modeling full-year fiscal 2026 revenue growth at roughly 14%, with Azure expected to contribute more than 30% of total sales. He also notes that capital spending is stabilizing as a percentage of revenue, while margins are continuing to expand. Investors have already pushed Microsoft shares up about 30% since those partner conversations began. Now, all attention turns to the July 30 earnings report to see if Microsoft can beat expectations and prove that Copilot is a true growth catalyst. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Errore nel recupero dei dati Effettua l'accesso per consultare il tuo portafoglio Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati
CNBC
a day ago
- Business
- CNBC
Microsoft stops relying on Chinese engineers for Pentagon cloud support
Microsoft on Friday revised its practices to ensure that engineers in China no longer provide technical support to U.S. defense clients using the company's cloud services. The company implemented the changes in an effort to reduce national security and cybersecurity risks stemming from its cloud work with a major customer. The announcement came days after ProPublica published an extensive report describing the Defense Department's dependence on Microsoft software engineers in China. "In response to concerns raised earlier this week about US-supervised foreign engineers, Microsoft has made changes to our support for US Government customers to assure that no China-based engineering teams are providing technical assistance for DoD Government cloud and related services," Frank Shaw, the Microsoft's chief communications officer, wrote in a Friday X post. The change impacts the work of Microsoft's Azure cloud services division, which analysts estimate now generates more than 25% of the company's revenue. That makes Azure bigger than Google Cloud but smaller than Amazon Web Services. Microsoft receives "substantial revenue from government contracts," according to its most recent quarterly earnings statement, and more than half of the company's $70 billion in first-quarter revenue came from customers based in the U.S. In 2019, Microsoft won a $10 billion cloud-related defense contract, but the Pentagon wound up canceling it in 2021 after a legal battle. In 2022, the department gave cloud contracts worth up to $9 billion in total to Amazon, Google, Oracle and Microsoft. ProPublica reported that the work of Microsoft's Chinese Azure engineers is overseen by "digital escorts" in the U.S., who typically have less technical prowess than the employees they manage overseas. The report detailed how the "digital escort" arrangement might leave the U.S. vulnerable to a cyberattack from China. Microsoft originally told ProPublica that employees and contractors were operating in adherence to U.S. government rules. "We remain committed to providing the most secure services possible to the US government, including working with our national security partners to evaluate and adjust our security protocols as needed," Shaw wrote.
