The steady drip of revelations about Chinese attacks on US critical infrastructure, businesses, government IT systems, contractors, and perhaps even courts has done little to calm matters. The trade war over tariffs and access to rare earth elements and other materials essential to IT vendors begun by US President Donald Trump when he took office in January has further aggravated the situation — although in June Trump claimed the relationship is excellent between the two countries.
Protecting sensitive data
Microsoft said that company staff and contractors with privileged access to US government cloud systems had to pass government-approved background screening controls, and that it adheres to FedRAMP (NIST 800-53) and Department of Defense Security Requirements Guide (DoD SRG) security requirements.
“For some technical requests, Microsoft engages our team of global subject matter experts to provide support through authorized US personnel, consistent with US Government requirements and processes. In these instances, global support personnel have no direct access to customer data or customer systems. Only authorized US persons with the appropriate clearances and training provide direct support. These personnel are provided specific training on protecting sensitive data, preventing harm, and use of the specific commands/controls within the environment,” said a Microsoft spokesperson.
This story originally appeared on Computerworld
