Microsoft Admits to Searching Blogger’s Emails
The tech giant admits it searched a blogger's emails during an internal investigation into a former employee who was accused of leaking company secrets, saying in this case it “took extraordinary actions"
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| Microsoft Admits to Searching Blogger’s Emails |
Microsoft admitted Thursday that it searched a blogger’s emails during an internal investigation into who leaked company secrets.
John Frank, the company’s deputy general counsel said in a statement
that Microsoft “took extraordinary actions in this case,” the Associated
Press reports. In September 2012, Microsoft searched the Hotmail
account and instant messages of a blogger who was communicating with a
former software architect for the company, Alex Kibkalo.
Kibkalo was named in an FBI complaint filed on Monday, but the
blogger was not identified, the AP reports. Kibkalo allegedly shared
tweaks to the Windows 8 RT operating system and software tools that
could have aided hackers in navigating and activating Microsoft
programs. Kibkalo’s cloud account, which he allegedly used to share
files with the blogger, was also searched. Kibkalo has since located to
Russia, according to authorities.
Microsoft said its legal office approved the search but that in the
future it would consult an outside attorney before resorting to such
measures. But Frank said a court order wasn’t needed in this case.
“Courts do not issue orders authorizing someone to search themselves,”
he said. “Even when we have probable cause, it’s not feasible to ask a
court to order us to search ourselves.
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