Microsoft Under Antitrust Investigation

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched a sweeping antitrust investigation into Microsoft, reports The Verge, citing a source familiar with the matter.

The probe focuses on Microsoft's business practices in cloud computing, cybersecurity services, and AI offerings. Regulators are reportedly scrutinizing the integration of Microsoft's productivity and security software with its Azure cloud platform.

• The investigation gained momentum following security incidents involving Microsoft’s products.
• Microsoft’s status as a major provider of software for U.S. government agencies has also drawn regulatory attention.
• This marks the fifth major tech company to face such an extensive antitrust review in recent years.

For years, Microsoft managed to avoid the intense scrutiny faced by Amazon, Apple, Google, and Meta. However, earlier this year, a government cybersecurity review board concluded that Microsoft’s "security culture is inadequate and requires significant improvement." In response, CEO Satya Nadella issued a memo to employees:

"If you're faced with a choice between security and another priority, the answer is clear: choose security."

Microsoft faced backlash last summer when a global outage disrupted airports, banks, telecom operators, stock exchanges, and various services due to a failure in its Azure cloud platform. The company later attributed the incident to an error in the interaction between third-party cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike and Microsoft’s Windows services.

CrowdStrike, a prominent security vendor, supplies antivirus solutions for Microsoft products, highlighting the challenges of integrating third-party systems with Microsoft's ecosystem.