Microsoft accused of creating a monopoly on US government systems through 
free upgrades

Date:
Mon, 18 Nov 2024 14:28:10 +0000

Description:
Microsoft reportedly offered the US government $150m in free cybersecurity
services, and injected consultants into agencies.

FULL STORY

As Microsoft looks to confront European antitrust regulator scrutiny, the
company is also facing investigations over alleged business practices over 
the pond in the US. 

It has been suggested Microsoft offered one of its most important customers,
the US government, free services in order to keep it as a customer and stamp
out competition. 

A ProPublica report found the company pledged $150 million in cybersecurity
services to the federal government during a 2021 White House summit led by
President Joe Biden. Rumored to be internally known as the White House Offer,
Microsofts pledge would see federal agencies gain access to the Microsoft 365
Government G5 security suite, which includes security, compliance and
collaboration features. G5 costs around 60% more than G3.

Microsoft accused of monopolizing US government contracts

Furthermore, Microsoft consultants working within the governments agencies to
assist with the implementation of the companys tools reportedly created a
dependency on its services, effectively making it more difficult for the US
government to switch providers. 

The White House Offer benefited Microsoft beyond the cybersecurity space, as
well. By boosting adoption of its Azure cloud platform, Microsoft would be
able to intensify its competition against Amazon Web Services, which accounts
for the largest portion of the cloud pie. 

Steve Faehl, Federal Security CTO for Microsoft, stated the companys sole 
goal during this period was to support an urgent request by the 
Administration to enhance the security posture of federal agencies who were
continuously being targeted by sophisticated nation-state threat actors. 

A White House spokesperson sought to distance the government from Microsofts
conduct: This was a voluntary commitment made by Microsoft and Microsoft 
alone was responsible for it.

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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/microsoft-accused-of-creating-a-monopoly-on-us-g
overnment-systems-through-free-upgrades

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