Microsoft to warn email users of suspected hacking by governments

  Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday it will begin warning users of its Outlook.com email service when the company suspects that a government has been trying to hack into their accounts. Microsoft told Reuters about the plan in a statement. It comes nine days after Reuters asked the company why it had decided not tell victims of a hacking campaign, discovered in 2011, that had targeted international leaders of China's Tibetan and Uighur minorities in particular. According to two former employees of Microsoft, the company's own experts had concluded several years ago that Chinese authorities had been behind the campaign but the company did not pass on that information to users of its Hotmail service, which is now called Outlook.com. In its statement, Microsoft said neither it nor the US government could pinpoint the sources of the hacking attacks and that they didn't come from a single country. The policy change at the world's largest software company follows similar moves since October by Internet giants Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and most recently Yahoo Inc. Google Inc pioneered the practice in 2012 and said it now alerts tens of thousands of users every few months. For two years, Microsoft has offered alerts about potential security breaches without specifying the likely suspect. In the statement, Microsoft said: "As the threat landscape has evolved our approach has too, and we'll now go beyond notification and guidance to specify if we reasonably believe the attacker is 'state-sponsored'." Microsoft declined to say what role, if any, the Hotmail hacking campaign played in its policy change. The Hotmail attacks had also targeted diplomats, media workers, human rights lawyers, and others in sensitive positions inside China, according to the former employees. Microsoft had told the targets to reset their passwords but did not tell them that they had been hacked. Five victims interviewed by Reuters said they had not taken the password request as an indication of hacking. Online free-speech activists and security experts have long called for more direct warnings, saying that they prompt behavioral changes from email users.

Microsoft to set up Centre of Excellence in Visakhapatnam

  The Andhra Pradesh government today said Microsoft India will be setting up a Centre of Excellence in Visakhapatnam as part of its digital inclusion drive in the state, besides sharpening focus on raising productivity. The technology giant signed an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government in deployment and use of information and communications technologies to offer better citizen services in the state, an official release said. Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu hosted a breakfast meeting for Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella -- who is currently on a visit to Hyderabad -- at his residence today. The meeting lasted for 80 minutes, during which Nadella assured the state government of total cooperation in utilisation of cloud data for improving citizen services. The Ultimate Way to Get Cheap Hotel RoomsSave70 Stormfall: Free And Addicting Strategy Game! Prepare For War!Stormfall - Online Game Recommended By Colombia "He (Nadella) has also agreed to set up a Centre for Excellence in Visakhapatnam. He promised to visit Anantapur district during his next visit," the statement said. According to the MoU, the state government will use technical knowledge from Microsoft India, which will support building of up to three proof-of-concept (POC) solutions to apply Microsoft Azure Machine Learning and Advanced Visualisation in education, agriculture and e-citizen services, an official release said.

Microsoft to work with T-Hub to develop startups: CEO Satya Nadella

Microsoft chief executive officer Satya Nadella on Monday said the tech giant would like to work with T-Hub to develop accelerators and startups. Nadella shared this during his visit to T-Hub, billed as India's largest technology incubator. T-Hub is a technology incubator with public/private partnership between the government of Telangana, three of India's academic institutes (IIIT-H, ISB & NALSAR) and some private sector organisations. "Indian talent in the area is dramatically growing and we can see their dominance in the field," he said while addressing budding entrepreneurs. On a visit to Hyderabad, Nadella visited the facility located at the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad. Nadella said Microsoft's goal and dream is to empower local entrepreneurs to solve last mile connectivity. A New MMORPG You Won't Get Bored With. Click Here To Try!Stormfall - Online Game 10 Upcoming Cars That Will Make You Lose Your MindCarophile Recommended By Colombia He said that his energy comes from the interaction with entrepreneurs across the world. "There are three points to success: concept, capability, culture. Learn more from day one... chase after your concept or idea. Improve your capability to chase the idea... Curate the culture," he told the entrepreneurs in an inspirational talk. To a query, he said the importance of failure lies in learning from it.