You've heard of the "SkyDrive" — Microsoft's product that allows computer users to access their files from any device they choose without physically transferring computer files? Looks like the SkyDrive is in Utah.
The cyber-giant Microsoft went way beyond previously exposed collaboration with the National Security Agency (NSA) and U.S. spy agencies according to "top secret documents obtained by the Guardian," reported a team of national security journalists led by Glenn Greenwald on July 11.
"The files provided by Edward Snowden illustrate the scale of co-operation between Silicon Valley and the intelligence agencies over the last three years," Greenwald et al. reported. Every well-known Microsoft "brand-name" and "app" name was used to provide information to the NSA, FBI and CIA, including Outlook.com, Hotmail, encrypted email and the cheap Internet phone service Skype that was bought by Microsoft in late 2011.
One of the most lucrative Microsoft apps for the spy apparatus is the "cloud storage service, SkyDrive" that has more than 250 million users. What a deal! This mostly-free service allows a person to file and store all their documents in one "cloud" which a person can access from any one of his or her many Internet access devices from Smartphones, to iPads, to PCs, laptops, etc., etc.
One little drawback — Microsoft "worked with the FBI this year to allow the NSA easier access via Prism to its cloud storage service SkyDrive."
In addition, "Microsoft helped the NSA to circumvent its encryption to address concerns that the agency would be unable to intercept web chats on the new Outlook.com portal," the article says, and the NSA "already had pre-encryption stage access to email on Outlook.com, including Hotmail."
Through its Microsoft channel, the NSA "boasted that a new capability had tripled the amount of Skype video calls being collected through Prism." That was in July, 2012, just nine months after Microsoft had purchased Skype, which had actually joined PRISM in February 2011 before Microsoft bought it.
Microsoft provided a statement that indicates that it is "legally compelled" to comply with U.S. government demands, but it is one of the first open admissions that the expose of the PRISM program is true. For details, see,
