Microsoft President Brad Smith has called on Donald Trump to take decisive action against cyber-attacks originating from Russia, China, and Iran, citing an alarming rise in state-sponsored hacking targeting U.S. government officials and election campaigns.
Speaking to The Financial Times (FT), Smith, who also serves as the company’s executive vice president and chief legal officer, emphasized that cybersecurity “deserves to be a more prominent issue in international relations.” He urged the incoming Trump administration to send a strong message to deter hostile nations.
“I hope the Trump administration will push harder against nation-state cyberattacks, particularly from Russia, China, and Iran. We cannot tolerate the level of attacks we have seen today,” Smith stated.
Rise in ransomware attacks
Smith pointed to a surge in ransomware attacks on U.S. companies, frequently carried out by criminal organizations that he said are often “tolerated … and in some cases, even facilitated” by the Russian government.
Adding to the concerns, U.S. law enforcement officials last week accused China of conducting a widespread cyber espionage campaign, infiltrating multiple American telecommunications networks ahead of the election.
According to Microsoft, its customers face more than 600 million cyber-attacks daily, underscoring the urgent need for robust defensive measures.
Progress under Biden administration
Smith acknowledged that the Joe Biden administration has made “tremendous progress in strengthening cybersecurity defenses.” However, he stressed the need for additional measures to deter and dissuade other nations from engaging in such activities.
A recent Microsoft study revealed that nation-state groups and criminal gangs are increasingly collaborating, sharing tools, and conducting joint operations to target vulnerable systems.
In his testimony before the U.S. Senate in September, Smith highlighted that Russia, China, and Iran have ramped up digital efforts to interfere in global elections, including those in the United States.
Microsoft faces security criticism
Despite its advocacy for stronger cybersecurity measures, Microsoft itself has faced scrutiny over its own security practices.
In March, a report by the U.S. Cybersecurity Review Board criticized the company’s security culture, describing it as “inadequate.” The report highlighted several “avoidable mistakes” that allowed Chinese hackers to access hundreds of email accounts hosted on Microsoft’s cloud systems, including those of senior U.S. government security officials.
In response, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella pledged to prioritize security “above all else,” including linking employee compensation to improved security outcomes. The company has also begun implementing changes to its Windows operating system to enable faster recovery from incidents such as the global IT outage caused by a flawed CrowdStrike security update in July.
Call for exporting digital technologies to the Middle East and Africa
Beyond cybersecurity, Smith commented on the potential impact of a second Trump administration on the technology sector. He noted that anticipated changes to merger and acquisition regulations in the U.S. could be offset by heightened scrutiny in other regions.
Smith also renewed his call for the U.S. government to “help accelerate the export of key American digital technologies” to regions like the Middle East and Africa. This appeal comes in the wake of export controls imposed by the Biden administration on artificial intelligence chips over fears they could be diverted to China.
“We really need to standardize processes so that American technology can get to these other parts of the world as quickly as Chinese technology,” Smith stated.
