{"id":432085,"date":"2026-01-25T10:12:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T10:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/432085\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T10:12:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T10:12:11","slug":"microsoft-handed-the-government-encryption-keys-for-customer-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/432085\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft handed the government encryption keys for customer data"},"content":{"rendered":"

The FBI went to Microsoft last year with a warrant, asking them to hand over keys to unlock encrypted data stored on three laptops as part of an investigation into potential fraud involving the COVID unemployment assistance program in Guam \u2014 and Microsoft complied<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Typically, companies resist handing over encryption keys to authorities. Most famously, Apple refused<\/a> to grant the FBI access to a phone used by the San Bernardino shooters in 2016. The FBI eventually found a third-party to hack their way into the phone, but ultimately withdrew<\/a> its case. Most of the major tech companies, including Google<\/a> and Facebook<\/a> backed Apple in its battle with the FBI. Even Microsoft supported Tim Cook\u2019s position, if a bit less forcefully<\/a> than some others.<\/p>\n

In this instance, however, it seems that Microsoft has decided to bow to government demands and confirmed to Forbes<\/a> that it \u201cdoes provide BitLocker recovery keys if it receives a valid legal order.\u201d Microsoft spokesperson Charles Chamberlayne told The Verge that Microsoft is legally required to produce the keys stored on its servers.<\/p>\n

Chamberlayne ellaborated saying, \u201ccustomers can choose to store their encryption keys locally, in a location inaccessible to Microsoft, or in Microsoft\u2019s cloud. We recognize that some customers prefer Microsoft\u2019s cloud storage so we can help recover their encryption key if needed. While key recovery offers convenience, it also carries a risk of unwanted access.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon countered, telling Forbes that it was \u201cirresponsible\u201d for companies to \u201csecretly turn over users\u2019 encryption keys.\u201d<\/p>\n

What alarms privacy advocates like the ACLU is the precedent this sets and the potential for abuse. The current administration and ICE<\/a> have shown little respect for data security<\/a> or the rule of law<\/a>. And beyond American borders, Jennifer Granick, surveillance and cybersecurity counsel at the ACLU, told Forbes that \u201cforeign governments with questionable human rights records\u201d may also expect Microsoft to hand over keys to customer data.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The FBI went to Microsoft last year with a warrant, asking them to hand over keys to unlock…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":210996,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49,48,63,44,5545,64,61],"class_list":["post-432085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-microsoft","tag-news","tag-privacy","tag-tech","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}