Don't trust Microsoft, warns analyst

An ex-Microsoft privacy analyst has warned consumers not to trust his former company with their personal data – as even he has doubts over its privacy policies – following the US Prism-gate scandal.
Speaking at surveillance event in Switzerland earlier this week, Caspar Bowden said he had warned EU officials about his concerns years ago, although his fears fell on deaf ears.
The privacy analyst left the software giant in 2011, and following the Edward Snowden leaks, he said he is suddenly in demand as a pundit.
Microsoft and other internet giants have been fighting a public backlash after former National Security Agency contractor Snowden proved they were handing over user data to the US surveillance programme.
Bowden said he has stopped using Microsoft products in favour of open source software and has not owned a mobile phone for two years.
He did not know about Prism when he was at Microsoft, even though questions of privacy should have crossed his desk. He does not trust Microsoft now. Bowden has called for the creation of an ‘EU cloud’, warning that US-based services cannot be trusted. He maintained that said users should be warned when they log on to services in the US that they may be under surveillance.

Don’t trust Microsoft, warns analyst

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