Microsoft says government officials make sudden visit to China offices

[cirr]

Breakingnews

Microsoft says government officials make sudden visit to China offices



Reuters – 14 minutes ago


Reuters/Reuters - A employee stands in the Microsoft booth during the 2014 Computex exhibition at the TWTC Nangang exhibition hall in Taipei June 3, 2014. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang


BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese government officials made sudden visits to Microsoft Corp's China offices, a Microsoft spokeswoman said on Monday, but declined to give a reason.

"We aim to build products that deliver the features, security and reliability customers expect and we're happy to answer the government's questions," the spokeswoman said in an e-mailed statement, declining to give further information.

China's State Administration for Industry & Commerce, which Chinese media reported made the sudden visit on Microsoft offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu, declined to give comment outside of working hours.

(Reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Matt Driskill)

Microsoft says government officials make sudden visit to China offices - Yahoo News Canada

 

[cirr]

The company to be declared a monopoly in the OS market。

 

[terranMarine]

The company to be declared a monopoly in the OS market。

I smell our official is gonna whack MS with a fine

 

[Edison Chen]

It's the government issue, but Surface pro 3 will be on sale on Aug 1st.

 

[shiv]

I dont get it .. why do these MNCs even go to china if ultimately they have to do is crib ? Microsoft should pull out if they think the govt is unjust there ..!

 

[cirr]

UPDATE 1-Microsoft says government officials make sudden visits to China offices

Mon Jul 28, 2014 6:59am EDT

(Adds background on Microsoft business in China)

(Reuters) - Chinese government officials have made sudden visits to Microsoft Corp offices in China, a spokeswoman for the company said on Monday, but declined to give any reason for the inspections.

China's State Administration for Industry & Commerce, which Chinese media reported had made the visits to Microsoft offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu, declined to give comment outside of working hours.

Microsoft has been a focus of anti-U.S. technology sentiment in China since U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden revealed widespread spying programmes, including PRISM, which used U.S. company's technology for cyber espionage.

In an e-mailed statement, the Microsoft spokeswoman said: "We aim to build products that deliver the features, security and reliability customers expect and we're happy to answer the government's questions," but declined to give any further information.

The world's largest software company has had a rocky time in China, including a call by state media for "severe punishment" against American tech firms for helping the U.S government to steal secrets and monitor China.

Earlier this month, activists said Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage service was being disrupted in China.

In May, central government offices were banned from installing Windows 8, Microsoft's latest operating system, on new computers. This ban appears to not have been lifted, as multiple procurement notices since then have not allowed Windows 8.

Nevertheless, the company has pushed forward with plans to release its Xbox One gaming console in China in September, forming distribution ties with wireless carrier China Telecom Corp and e-commerce company JD.com Inc. (Reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Matt Driskill and David Holmes)

UPDATE 1-Microsoft says government officials make sudden visits to China offices| Reuters

I dont get it .. why do these MNCs even go to china if ultimately they have to do is crib ? Microsoft should pull out if they think the govt is unjust there ..!

Yeah then losing half of its stock value。

Very good idea。

PS You do realize that China is the largest or 2nd largest market for these MNCs？

 

[cirr]

Public support for expert’s govt iPhone ban plan

By Jiang Jie (Global Times) 09:16, July 29, 2014

A proposal to ban Chinese officials from using iPhones after Apple admitted their operating system (iOS) has "back doors" has gained public support, although others admit they would not stop using the smartphones.

Fang Xingdong, a senior research fellow with the Zhejiang University of Media and Communications in Zhejiang Province, said Monday that staff working in government and military bodies and with key infrastructure should be prohibited from iPhone use.

His proposal comes after Apple admitted that personal data, including contact lists, photos and text messages could be retrieved through proprietary technology, which they said was to allow diagnostic services through trusted computers, Reuters reported Friday.

"Public service personnel can use domestically manufactured phones since most use the Android system. It is relatively more open and has a larger amount of source code [thaniOS], which can be used for security upgrades," Fang said. He also urged China to push forward its research and development of an independent and controllable China-produced smartphone operating system.

Fang's comments attracted a lot of attention online. According to several surveys conducted by Sina Weibo on Monday, more than 67 percent of over 4,200 respondents agreed with Fang and 61.6 percent supported the proposal because of the security loopholes.

"I agree with the proposal. The ban should be especially for staff working in confidential departments," wrote a Chinese diplomat on her verified Sina Weibo account.

However, in another Sina poll, only around 30 percent of more than 1,000 respondents said they would give up their own iPhone, and 58.2 percent believe their iPhone to besecure, since it does not contain confidential information.

Qin An, director of the Strategy Research Institute for China's Cyber Space, told the Global Times that Apple and the US government should both reflect on their security situations in the wake of the Apple revelations and the US government's use of Prism.

"China needs to upgrade its own Internet security capacity," Qin said, "Risk managementand control requires cooperation at an international level. It is in the global interest to protect cyber security."

Research fellow Jonathan Zdziarski showed how Apple can access a surprising amount of data for diagnostic services, Reuters reported.

Users are not notified that the services are running and cannot disable them, Zdziarskisaid. There is no way for iPhone users to know what computers have previously been granted trusted status via the backup process or to block future connections, he noted.

Apple denied that it designed the back door to aid security or law enforcement services, saying it was to "troubleshoot technical issues."

Public support for expert’s govt iPhone ban plan - People's Daily Online