Microsoft has given the Russian secret service access to its Windows 7 source code. Now, it seems to become a very sensible topic after the U.S. capture of 10 alleged Russian spies.
Access was given to Russia’s Federal’naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii (Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation). It is Russia’s agency for counterintelligence, counterterrorism, and surveillance - practically the main successor of the Soviet-era KGB.
This agreement is an extension of a previous one, signed in 2002 that gave the FSB access to the source codes for Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2000.
According to Vedomosti, the Russian newspaper which first broke the story, "Atlas will use the information to create cryptographic defenses for Microsoft's latest line of products, which will open them up for use by state agencies and services."
Well, no one doubts that Russia needs those codes. But why Microsoft gave them? The answer is simple. For Microsoft, it's good for business to expand cooperation with the government, whose contracts provide about 10% of the company's revenue in Russia. It's all about the money.
Source:
