Opinion: Microsoft's Security Problem Hits Closer to Home Than You Think

In my years working in both state government and city government, we treated the safety of constituents with utmost seriousness. A key fucntion of government is the security of its citizens,a and in today’s world, that also includes protecting your online security. That’s because data represents both an asset and vulnerability. 

Local governments are responsible for much of the country’s most critical infrastructure, including water, public health, and emergency response. Many of these systems are supported by technology from Microsoft. At the same time, there is a growing chorus of people who are raising the alarm about how that company’s dangerous relationship with China is jeopardizing the integrity of these systems.

 Why does that matter?

Here’s why. All across Texas, county leadership handles various functions to serve our residents with IT products from several vendors, including Microsoft. But why is Microsoft, one of America’s greatest corporate success stories, such a concern for our national security? Despite the company's Washington headquarters, Microsoft employs nearly 10,000 engineers in China who work directly on their products including Office, Exchange, Teams, Windows and Azure - the same software our government uses daily. The same software that has allowed several Texas county computers to be hacked by Ransomware. This is a type of malware which prevents one from accessing their own device and the data stored on it, usually by encrypting the files. A criminal group will then demand a ransom in exchange for decryption. The computer itself may become locked, or the data on it might be encrypted, stolen or deleted.

 Microsoft's presence in China creates multiple concerns. For one, Chinese law requires the company to share source code with government authorities. What’s more, Microsoft’s security efforts have shown to be ineffective at preventing several major breaches in recent years, including in 2023, when Chinese hackers infiltrated their systems and accessed sensitive communications from high-ranking U.S. officials. A subsequent Department of Homeland Security investigation found this breach stemmed from what they called a "cascade of avoidable errors" in Microsoft's security practices.

 Local governments face a particular predicament. Many lack resources to build custom solutions, and Microsoft's licensing structure makes switching to alternatives prohibitively expensive. That’s why many remain dependent on their products even as evidence mounts that they've prioritized Chinese market access over security.

 Cybersecurity at every level of government should be a priority to protect critical infrastructure plans, sensitive resident data, and financial information. However, most local government have no control over whether our digital vendors share backdoor software access with foreign adversaries. We need federal action because this problem affects many communities in the U.S.

 Our Senators are known for taking our national security seriously, and this is especially true of Senator Cruz, who has made accountability for Big Tech and standing up to China a major part of his work in Washington.

 Senators Cornyn and Cruz understand that this problem extends far beyond Washington. We need swift action at the federal level to address Microsoft's market dominance and its concerning relationship with China. Until then, local officials will continue watching with growing unease as sensitive data flows through software the Chinese government can access.

 With President Trump back in the White House, joined by a House and Senate that Americans elected to enact his America First agenda, the time is now to secure our technology landscape.