Microsoft and Google Openly Feuding Amid Hacks, Competition Inquiries

Tensions between Microsoft and Google have been simmering for a while but the rivalry has become unusually public in recent days.

By Reuters | Updated: 13 March 2021 09:55 IST

Microsoft and Google Openly Feuding Amid Hacks, Competition Inquiries

Highlights

Tensions between Microsoft and Google have been simmering for a while
Google faces bipartisan complaints - and journalistic ire
Microsoft faces scrutiny in back-to-back cybersecurity breaches

Google and Microsoft are at knives drawn. Driven in part by pressure from lawmakers and regulators over the extraordinary power the two technology companies wield over American life, the California-based search engine giant and Washington-based software firm are wrestling to throw each other under the bus.

Tensions between Microsoft and Alphabet-owned Google have been simmering for a while but the rivalry has become unusually public in recent days as executives from both firms have been put on the defensive over competing crises.

Google faces bipartisan complaints - and journalistic ire - over its role in gutting the media industry's advertisement revenue, the subject of a Congressional antitrust hearing on Friday.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

Microsoft, meanwhile, faces scrutiny for its role in back-to-back cybersecurity breaches.

In the first, the same allegedly Russian hackers who compromised the Texas software firm SolarWinds also took advantage of Microsoft's cloud software to break into some of the company's clients. The second, disclosed on March 2, saw allegedly Chinese hackers abuse previously unknown vulnerabilities to vacuum up emails from Microsoft customers around the world.

Addressing lawmakers on Friday at a House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee on news, Microsoft President Brad Smith was due to fire a shot at Google, telling representatives that media organizations are being forced to "use Google's tools, operate on Google's ad exchanges, contribute data to Google's operations, and pay Google money," according to excerpts of his testimony published by Axios.

Google Maps New Feature Will Allow Users to Draw, Rename Missing Roads

Google fired back, saying that Microsoft's "newfound interest in attacking us comes on the heels of the SolarWinds attack and at a moment when they've allowed tens of thousands of their customers — including government agencies in the US, NATO allies, banks, nonprofits, telecommunications providers, public utilities, police, fire and rescue units, hospitals and, presumably, news organizations — to be actively hacked via major Microsoft vulnerabilities."

© Thomson Reuters 2021

PS5 vs Xbox Series X: Which is the best "next-gen" console in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.