Does Microsoft Russian Too Much With Russia?
According to Russian media, Microsoft has quietly resumed Windows 11 updates in the country, contravening what was announced in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And in an interview, the president of the tech giant, Brad Smith, called for a Marshall Plan for Ukraine… but also for Russia
Microsoft quietly returns to Russia.
In the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Redmond-based tech giant took a clear-cut position. On March 4, 2022, Microsoft announced the withdrawal of its services from Russia and then helped Ukraine with anti-cyber solutions to counter Russian cyber attacks and cyber espionage.
The company announced on Nov. 4 that it would extend technology support to Ukraine free of charge until 2023. Specifically, approximately $100 million in additional technology aid, bringing its total support for Ukraine to more than $400 million since 2023. beginning of the crisis in February.
But all this goes hand in hand with the news of the resumption of Microsoft services in Russia.
Users in Russia can once again download drivers and other software from Intel and Microsoft, both of which withdrew from the country after the invasion of Ukraine, according to Russian media reports picked up by US tech publications. These reports indicate that Microsoft has now quietly re-enabled Windows 11 automatic updates for Russian users even though it doesn't allow downloads of the operating system.
About the reactivation of Windows 11 updates, the Redmond giant released a statement to Tom's Hardware over the weekend. In the meantime, in an interview with Il Sole 24 Ore published on Sunday 15 January “the president of Microsoft, Bradford Lee Smith, calls for a Marshall plan for Russia. Are you unveiling a US strategy, or, having not broken off relations with Moscow, are you pushing for more work?” asked the newspaper La Verità today.
Here are all the details.
THE IRON FIST ANNOUNCED LAST BY MICROSOFT AGAINST RUSSIA
On March 4, 2022 Microsoft, through its blog , announced the decision to suspend sales of all its products and services in Russia.
Indeed, company president Smith wrote: “Like the rest of the world, we are horrified, angered and saddened by the images and news coming from the war in Ukraine and condemn this unwarranted, unprovoked and illegal invasion by Russia. We are announcing today that we will be suspending all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia.”
Furthermore, Smith pointed out that the company was “working closely with the governments of the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom” and was “discontinuing many aspects of its business in Russia in accordance with government sanctions decisions ”.
MICROSOFT'S RUSSIAN OFFICES CLOSED
Not only that, Microsoft further significantly scaled back its operations in Russia last June, more than three months after the invasion of Ukraine.
This was reported by Bloomberg , according to which the Redmond giant, after blocking the sale of products and services in the country in early March, has decided to completely close its offices and businesses, a decision that impacts 400 employees. “Following the changes in the economic outlook and the impact on our business in Russia, we have made the decision to significantly reduce our operations – a Microsoft spokesperson told Bloomberg News – We will continue to fulfill our existing contractual obligations with customers Russians".
MARSHALL PLAN FOR UKRAINE… OR RUSSIA?
Yet the wind from the Redmond tech company towards Russia appears to be changing.
In the interview with the president of Microsoft Brad Smith given to Il Sole 24 Ore , in fact, there is talk of a Marshall plan for Ukraine but also of the idea of a Marshall plan for Russia, if it loses.
“I think two things: the first is that the world needs a Marshall Plan for Ukraine, which is an extraordinary nation. We Americans rebuilt Western Europe after World War II and we can help rebuild again now. At the same time we must bear in mind that this war was wanted by the Russian government but not all of the Russian population should be considered enemies. There are schools, hospitals, innocent individuals who need medicines that can only come from Western Europe, England, America. We should help them when the war is over and they will have to rebuild, if they are defeated by Ukraine” explained the president of Microsoft to the Confindustria newspaper.
WHAT DOES THE DIRECTOR OF ACN THINK?
“Interview that if it had come out earlier it would certainly have put Baldoni himself in difficulty, not to mention Palazzo Chigi. The real news in the chat with Il Sole 24 Ore is in fact hidden inside and is twofold. On the one hand, the president of Microsoft, answering a question about Ukraine and after claiming a commitment with Kiev worth around 400 million, adds that "Washington has talked about a Marshall plan for Russia", the newspaper comments today directed by Maurizio Belpietro in an article by Claudio Antonelli.
Just last week, Microsoft announced a new collaboration with the Acn , the national authority that promotes the implementation of common actions aimed at guaranteeing the cyber security and resilience necessary for Italy's digital development. The partnership was announced on the occasion of the visit to our country by the President of Microsoft, Brad Smith, in a meeting with Roberto Baldoni, General Manager of Acn. In addition to meeting the head of the National Cybersecurity Agency, Roberto Baldoni, Smith also held talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Pope Francis at the Vatican.
WINDOWS UPDATES RESUME IN RUSSIA
And – combination? – here Microsoft (like Intel) quietly confirms that it is returning to Russia.
Several reports in the Russian media indicate that Intel and Microsoft have resumed their activities in Russia and Belarus after an initial halt following the invasion of Ukraine by the first and subsequent sanctions imposed on the country.
Specifically, Microsoft allows Windows updates to resume in Russia. This seems to be for business users as people cannot download and install newer OS versions.
Information provided by Intel to Tom's Hardware suggests that the company may have been forced to resume driver updates. The company says that "access to resources that address driver update needs, such as the Intel Download Center and Intel Download Support Assistant, are part of Intel's warranty obligations." In other words, the company could allow updates simply to fulfill warranty commitments, the newspaper comments. As for Microsoft, the company's reasons may be similar, adds Tom's Hardware .
SUB-ENTRY MICROSOFT CONFIRMS THAT YOU ARE RETURNING TO RUSSIA
“As we previously shared, we have halted all sales of new products and services in Russia and are complying with EU, UK and US sanctions,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Tom's Hardware .
Microsoft's statement doesn't address whether or not it has re-enabled updates for Russian users — it only affects sales of new products and services — and the blog post provided doesn't even mention Microsoft's policy for Windows Update, which was previously deactivated. Tom's Hardware reports that it has reported the matter to Microsoft asking for specific clarifications on its Windows Update policy. The company said it has nothing more to share at this time.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/microsoft-russa-troppo-con-la-russia/ on Tue, 17 Jan 2023 11:20:39 +0000.