Report: Microsoft’s enterprise products covertly gather personal data on users

[nir]

Microsoft collects and stores personal data about the behavior of individual users of its enterprise offerings on a large scale, without any public documentation — according to a new report by Privacy Company.

 

The data protection impact assessment (DPIA) was commissioned by the Dutch government to guide its institutions — which includes 300,000 workstations in ministries, the judiciary, the police, tax authorities, etc. — in their dealings with Microsoft‘s enterprise software.

 

In a blog post discussing the findings of the report, Privacy Company clearly states that the results of the DPIA on Microsoft Office ProPlus for enterprises are alarming.

Microsoft systematically collects data on a large scale about the individual use of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Covertly, without informing people.

 

Microsoft does not offer any choice with regard to the amount of data, or possibility to switch off the collection, or ability to see what data are collected, because the data stream is encoded.

 

Similar to the practice in Windows 10, Microsoft has included separate software in the Office software that regularly sends telemetry data to its own servers in the United States.

Basically, Microsoft gathers a ton of data on employees using the company’s software, without letting them know, and doesn’t provide the option to opt out.

 

One of the biggest concerns of the report is Microsoft‘s use of the telemetry data, as Microsoft is pushing more and more services off premise. Up until now, Dutch governmental institutions have stored their content data locally, in their own data centers. But this is set to change.

 

The Dutch authorities are conducting pilots with storing data on the Microsoft cloud, in SharePoint, and in OneDrive — along with testing out the web-only version of Office 365. Although Microsoft does collect data on individual use of its software in current set-ups, the DPIA show that the new methods come with “high data protection risks for data subjects.”

 

The blog states that Microsoft has already made commitments to make adjustments to its software to accommodate privacy concerns, e.g. a telemetry data viewer tool and a new “zero-exhaust setting.”

 

While Microsoft‘s plans will hopefully help minimize the risk for its users, Privacy Company outlines six remaining high risks for data subjects:

• The unlawful storage of sensitive/classified/special categories of data, both in metadata and in, for example, subject lines of e-mails
• The incorrect qualification of Microsoft as a data processor, instead of as joint controller as defined in article 26 of the GDPR
• Insufficient control over sub-processors and factual data processing
• The lack of purpose limitation, both for the processing of historically collected diagnostic data and the possibility to dynamically add new types of events
• The transfer of (all kinds of) diagnostic data outside of the EEA, while the current legal ground for Office ProPlus is the Privacy Shield and the validity of this agreement is subject of a procedure at the European Court of Justice
• The indefinite retention period of diagnostic data and the lack of a tool to delete historical diagnostical data

A Microsoft spokesperson told TNW that the company was committed to finding a solution to the concerns raised in Privacy Company’s report:

We are committed to our customers’ privacy, putting them in control of their data and ensuring that Office ProPlus and other Microsoft products and services comply with GDPR and other applicable laws.

 

We appreciate the opportunity to discuss our diagnostic data handling practices in Office ProPlus with the Dutch Ministry of Justice and look forward to a successful resolution of any concerns.

In the mean time, Privacy Company recommends admins of the enterprise version of Office ProPlus in the Netherlands (although many of them should also be applicable to other countries) to take the following measures to lower the privacy risk for employees and other users:

• Apply the new zero-exhaust settings
• Centrally prohibit the use of Connected Services
• Centrally prohibit the option for users to send personal data to Microsoft to ‘improve Office’
• Do not use SharePoint Online / OneDrive
• Do not use the web-only version of Office 365
• Periodically delete the Active Directory account of some VIP users, and create new accounts for them, to ensure that Microsoft deletes the historical diagnostic data
• Consider using a stand-alone deployment without Microsoft account for confidential/sensitive data
• Consider conducting a pilot with alternative software, after having conducted a DPIA on that specific processing This could be a pilot with alternative open source productivity software.

Source

[Jogs]

Now lets see, will USA ban MS???

[sid_16]

14 minutes ago, Jogs said:

Now lets see, will USA ban MS???

USA knows to impose ban on others rather than on itself :P

[steven36]

2 hours ago, Jogs said:

Now lets see, will USA ban MS???

Thery never have ban them persay only  they sued  them for anti-competitive business practices  so far and they just got a slap  on the wrist .

 

Quote

The dissenting states regarded the settlement as merely a slap on the wrist. Industry pundit Robert X. Cringely believed a breakup was not possible, and that "now the only way Microsoft can die is by suicide.

 

What happens in the Netherlands is a matter for the EU government to handle ..They were the ones who reviewed  Windows 10 and  said it was OK  when  Microsoft put up some smoke and mirrors  when installing  it that let you opt out of some of it's data harvesting.

 

They have no privacy laws yet  in the USA  there still  in the process of getting them passed .Whats proposed  if a breech happens  and big tech company  is  found guilty of violating users privacy  they we be fined heavy  and  management  could get up to 10 years in prison.

 

2 hours ago, sid_16 said:

USA knows to impose ban on others rather than on itself

Nothing is actually   banned in the USA  as far as software . Only the Government has ban certain things for use in  Government  as a matter of national security and your full of it,  only stuff that been approved to use is allowed to be used in the Government no matter who makes it  they have list and if its not on the list it don't get used.

You can still buy Kaspersky  and Huawei  for  home use. It was the other way around  the USA ban China from being able  to buy Dram from the USA  and make products that they stole the tech for and  sell it back  to the US .  Also the AU  ban them for the same reason . You cant say China don't steal .

 

Back in 2016  Kaspersky reported , Chinese hack activity on Russia  nearly tripled in  2016.

https://www.newsweek.com/chinese-cyber-attacks-russia-nearly-triple-493861

 

Russia has a agreement with China  just like USA has  a  agreement with China for them not to hack each other  for trade secrets . Kapersky said it got much worse in  Russa  ,while  FireEye reported  in the  USA it was way lower   they was  blind to the fact  China  was doing it right under there noses    and now what happen is coming out . Nothing that happen under Obama shocks me.

 

Huawei Phones  USA version of Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Unlocked-Cell-Phones-Huawei/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A2407749011%2Cp_89%3AHuawei

 

Kaspersky USA

https://usa.kaspersky.com/

 

Kaspersky  USA version of Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Kaspersky/node/3557937011

 

ZTE USA

https://www.zteusa.com/

 

People  who live in different countries  gets  mixed up  about what goes on with the Government  and think it's imposed on the  civilians for personal use in the USA when there still free to use what ever they want,  nothing is really banned in the USA  only stuff is banned from having Government use and contracts.  In the USA , there even allowed to bring back Rum and Cigars now from Cuba for personal use.

[knowledge-Spammer]

3 hours ago, steven36 said:

Thery never have ban them persay only  they sued  them for anti-competitive business practices  so far and they just got a slap  on the wrist .

 

 

What happens in the Netherlands is a matter for the EU government to handle ..They were the ones who reviewed  Windows 10 and  said it was OK  when  Microsoft put up some smoke and mirrors  when installing  it that let you opt out of some of it's data harvesting.

 

They have no privacy laws yet  in the USA  there still  in the process of getting them passed .Whats proposed  if a breech happens  and big tech company  is  found guilty of violating users privacy  they we be fined heavy  and  management  could get up to 10 years in prison.

 

Nothing is actually   banned in the USA  as far as software . Only the Government has ban certain things for use in  Government  as a matter of national security and your full of it,  only stuff that been approved to use is allowed to be used in the Government no matter who makes it  they have list and if its not on the list it don't get used.

You can still buy Kaspersky  and Huawei  for  home use. It was the other way around  the USA ban China from being able  to buy Dram from the USA  and make products that they stole the tech for and  sell it back  to the US .  Also the AU  ban them for the same reason . You cant say China don't steal .

 

Back in 2016  Kaspersky reported , Chinese hack activity on Russia  nearly tripled in  2016.

https://www.newsweek.com/chinese-cyber-attacks-russia-nearly-triple-493861

 

Russia has a agreement with China  just like USA has  a  agreement with China for them not to hack each other  for trade secrets . Kapersky said it got much worse in  Russa  ,while  FireEye reported  in the  USA it was way lower   they was  blind to the fact  China  was doing it right under there noses    and now what happen is coming out . Nothing that happen under Obama shocks me.

 

Huawei Phones  USA version of Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Unlocked-Cell-Phones-Huawei/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A2407749011%2Cp_89%3AHuawei

 

Kaspersky USA

https://usa.kaspersky.com/

 

Kaspersky  USA version of Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Kaspersky/node/3557937011

 

ZTE USA

https://www.zteusa.com/

 

People  who live in different countries  gets  mixed up  about what goes on with the Government  and think it's imposed on the  civilians for personal use in the USA when there still free to use what ever they want,  nothing is really banned in the USA  only stuff is banned from having Government use and contracts.  In the USA , there even allowed to bring back Rum and Cigars now from Cuba for personal use.

where u get this info from

its fuuny to see about kaspersky  what can i say

[steven36]

2 minutes ago, knowledge said:

where u get this info from

its fuuny to see about kaspersky  what can i say

Quote

Cases of Chinese hacking of Russian industries including defense, nuclear, and aviation rose almost threefold to 194 in the first seven months of this year from 72 in the whole of 2015, according to Alexander Gostev, the Moscow-based company’s chief security expert. Proofpoint, a California-based cyber security company, also reported an increase in Chinese attacks on Russia.

 

The hacking is going on “despite the officially promoted friendship between Russia and China and accords on cyber security, cooperation and non-aggression” between the two governments, Gostev said in an interview. “I don’t see them working.”

 All this was said back  when Obama was still in office  2016 By Kaspersky and  ProofPoint  backed it up.

 

As West sees Russia as cyber predator, Chinese hackers view it as prey

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2009571/west-sees-russia-cyber-predator-chinese-hackers-view-it-prey

[knowledge-Spammer]

As West sees Russia as cyber predator, Chinese hackers view it as prey

 

do u mean Chinese hackers view it as prey u mean russia as prey ?

 

sometimes prey can hit back  sometimes u become the prey when u think u is the predator 

 

[steven36]

4 minutes ago, knowledge said:

As West sees Russia as cyber predator, Chinese hackers view it as prey

 

do u mean Chinese hackers view it as prey u mean russia as prey ?

 

sometimes prey can hit back  sometimes u become the prey when u think u is the predator 

 

Well since China is mostly a closed society and only post in there media what  they want you to see  we   would never know  if someone did strike back  they not going share that with you like Kaspersky shared it with us  about them.   But when Push comes to shove  you can not trust no other country. From Russia's own history and World War 2  they should know better they trusted Germany and Germany  turned on them . China are out for themselves just like  Germany  was.

[knowledge-Spammer]

good thing they both friends now or working on it  cant be bad thing

Spoiler

 

 

[steven36]

5 minutes ago, knowledge said:

good thing they both friends now or working on it  cant be bad thing

Oh China and Russia were friends once before 

 

Quote

 

Jacqueline Westermann, from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the behaviour came despite China's reluctance to deem countries allies.

 

"I wouldn't say it's an alliance but it sends the message that they both consider each other as potential allies", she said.

 

"In the past the [Russian] distrust towards China was known, but the fact they now openly talk about having a trusting relationship sends a significant message."

 

But beneath the warmth, some analysts believe long-held mutual suspicions remain.

 

Mr Putin has professed support for Mr Xi's multi-billion dollar Belt and Road infrastructure plan, but must worry that a Chinese cash splash through Central Asia will dilute Russia's traditional influence there.

 

But with frosty relations to the West, he's increasingly turned eastwards for support.

 

Curtin University's Alexey Muraviev told the ABC's Matter of Fact program Russia wanted to show it was not perturbed by sanctions.

 

At the peak of their Cold War tensions, Moscow amassed troops on the Chinese border and Beijing turned to the US for support amidst fears of a Russian attack.

 

Back then, ideological tensions over communist orthodoxy and national interests tore the socialist neighbours apart.

 

Now it's near impossible to imagine a similar situation brewing.

 

But with both leaders hell bent on making their respective countries great again, it's likely they'll keep a wary eye on the other to make sure any gains in national strength and influence are not made at their own expense.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-13/sour-us-ties-help-to-fuel-xi-and-putin27s-bromance/10239008

 

The fact is Russian has  suspicion that China may try to grab Russian Far East District in the future. Russia and China enjoy a very good economic & political relationship. But Russian military has more nuclear missiles facing China than Western Europe. So. you don’t place hundreds of nuclear missile in ready state targeting towards your friend.

 

[knowledge-Spammer]

hehehe maybe u is right but in russia u have backup with or with out friends

i mean just for friends no mean no missile  its for security friends or not  its number one thing 

plus china and russia no fight  for what is russia homeland  

usa can try and fuel what  they want  putin have said in very open nuclear  will be used if  attack  russia

[straycat19]

Unfortunately, the only way Microsoft will ever founder is if people quit drinking the Microsoft Kool-Aid.  In other words quit supporting Windows 10 and force all the systems to rollback to 7.  As long as people keep supporting them they will keep doing what they have been, disregarding your privacy or your right to a safe, secure, functioning operating system.

[steven36]

12 hours ago, straycat19 said:

In other words quit supporting Windows 10 and force all the systems to rollback to 7

Only downgrading will work for so many years after they drop updates before all 3rd party software  companies drop it. And businesses don't even have a choice in the matter if they did there would never would of upgraded  to Windows 7 to begin with ,  They would all still be using XP still  but they faced fines if they didn't update by 2014 . Microsoft gave them 2 more years because so many were not prepared, XP updates were to end in 2012 but they extended  it  2 yearsand  some ended up paying millions of dollars for updates for not meeting 2014 deadline.. They are laws on not being complaint .This time Microsoft instead extending updates is going charge  businesses for windows 7 updates from the get go tell they become complaint .

 

People like  you make me laugh ,  If you use Windows 7 your still  drinking Microsoft  Koolaid ,   just it's a different flavor is all, that don't leave quite as bad of taste in your mouth,  but it still stinks of Microsoft and there marketshare still controls how long you will get updates for any apps. If you use Windows 7 now  chances are once Microsoft abandons it and it becomes like XP were  you can't even get  a browser update you will switch to Windows 10 or use some OS not made by them. So downgrading  to and OS that runs out of updates in one year   even if you don't do Windows updates = a slow death . There is no future in the past  , in the end you will ether join them  or you will abandon them  for Mac OS  or Linux .

 

I learned to take anything said  from people  who use Windows with a grain of salt,  millions of Windows 98 users said they never upgrade to Windows XP and they all ended up on XP . Millions that used  XP said they never use Windows 7 ended up on Windows 7 anyway . And already they are millions  of people on Windows 10 many who claimed they would never upgrade to it and they already did and they will be millions more  join them soon.  So ranting and raving , when you still use Windows about another version has always been proven to be  futile in the long haul.

 

This time  it's not about  windows no how  the EU  already reviewed  Windows  and  Microsoft got by them by putting some smoke and mirrors in Windows 10,  this time it's about Microsoft office spying on people witch Office 365 can be used in all windows that still get updates   and Mac OS .

 

Quote

 

Operating system  requirements  :Windows: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 Service Pack 1, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, or Windows Server 2008 R2

 

macOS: Office for Mac is supported on the three most recent versions of macOS. When a new version of macOS is released, the Office for Mac Operating System requirement becomes the then-current three most recent versions: the new version of macOS and the previous versions.

 

https://products.office.com/en-us/office-system-requirements

 

Dutch Government Report Says Microsoft Office Telemetry Collection Breaks EU GDPR Laws

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/11/16/microsoft_gdpr/

 

Microsoft’s most vulnerable monopoly

Quote

The unprecedented opportunity to leverage the decline of one of the most profitable monopolies in history: Microsoft Office.

 

https://medium.com/swlh/microsofts-most-vulnerable-monopoly-55eaefd8ba34

[nir]

3 hours ago, steven36 said:

There is no future in the past

Very well put. 

[Karlston]

If you don't learn from the past, you're doomed to repeat it.

 

4 hours ago, steven36 said:

I learned to take anything said  from people  who use Windows with a grain of salt,  millions of Windows 98 users said they never upgrade to Windows XP and they all ended up on XP . Millions that used  XP said they never use Windows 7 ended up on Windows 7 anyway . And already they are millions  of people on Windows 10 many who claimed they would never upgrade to it and they already did and they will be millions more  join them soon.

 

You left off all those who said they'd never upgrade to ME, and didn't. And, those who said they'd never upgrade to Vista, and didn't. And, those who said they'd never upgrade to 8, and didn't.

 

Windows 10 is a different kettle of fish. Buying new hardware means Windows 10 is forced on you, and Microsoft/Intel/AMD have colluded to not produce drivers for older OS's making downgrading the OS on new hardware very difficult, if not impossible.

 

It's human nature to stick with what they have, aka if it's not broken don't fix it. It takes time for people to see what advantages/disadvantages a new OS has, and only then do people make the decision. XP was better than 98, and 7 was better than XP.

 

And, Windows 10 is better than 7/8/8.1. Just kidding...

[steven36]

1 hour ago, Karlston said:

You left off all those who said they'd never upgrade to ME, and didn't. And, those who said they'd never upgrade to Vista, and didn't. And, those who said they'd never upgrade to 8, and didn't.

 

i started out on Windows ME  even though it was crap they sold loads  of PCs  to home users back then with that  on it that was around the time  everybody in the US starting getting online.

Quote

Windows ME sales, first three days: 200,000 boxed copies through U.S. retail channels

 

Unlike Windows 10 Windows ME was amid  at the consumer,  Windows 2000 was amid at business

Quote

 

Considered a low point in the Windows series by many – at least, until they saw Windows Vista – Windows Millennium Edition was the last Windows to be based on MS-DOS, and the last in the Windows 9x line.

 

Released in September 2000, it was the consumer-aimed operating system twined with Windows 2000 aimed at the enterprise market. It introduced some important concepts to consumers, including more automated system recovery tools.

 

IE 5.5, Windows Media Player 7 and Windows Movie Maker all made their appearance for the first time. Autocomplete also appeared in Windows Explorer, but the operating system was notorious for being buggy, failing to install properly and being generally poor.

 

 

Huge Windows XP sales save the world

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/11/13/huge_windows_xp_sales_save/

but XP didn't start out  selling very good at 1st they only sold  300,000 boxed copies through U.S. retail channels in 1st 3 days. Windows 98 out sold both of those in the 1st 3 days  .. Windows XP was a new breed to Windows users it took awhile to adapt too it.

 

That was normal for Microsoft back then to make one bad OS and one good one .. Things started to change when they made Windows 8 ,  its  not a bad OS  it's stable as shit but  many windows users don't have no clue about windows expect  how to turn it on . Even before  they did Windows 8.1 update 3 when they updated it to roll windows out on Desktop you could always roll it out to desktop by changing a setting . And they always had 3rd party start menus for it , so it just showed Windows users ignorance . I never had a bit of problems running Windows 8.

 

But with Windows 10 it seems Microsoft is not going to give people a choice ,  Once 2023 comes and Windows 8.1 stop getting updates  everyone is Windows 10 bound because they want be no other OS by Microsoft for Software Devs to have to support, The only reprieve you will find  is use Mac OS or Linux , were not moving in the past.  Software Devs are moving into the future  and if you stay on old windows after so many years  you will be stuck in the past on old apps . There is not going to be no Windows 7 reprieve  to save  users like it was when 2014 came and people started leaving  XP . Windows7  is almost 10  years old now its soon to be legacy software like XP is..