Google: Goverment’s dependence on Microsoft poses cyber risk

Sixty percent of U.S. federal, state, and local government employees reported believing that the federal government's reliance on Microsoft products and services has increased vulnerability to cybersecurity incidents, ZDNet reports. However, the Google Cloud study, which also included other workers in the D.C. metro area and the U.S. as respondents, showed that 55% said they continued using Microsoft offerings as they were the most effective for their workflows while 45% attributed persisting Microsoft product usage to their employers' resistance to changing their systems. Legacy software has been hindering the U.S. government, according to Google Cloud Senior Director of Global Risk and Compliance Jeanette Manfra. "Many government agencies continue to rely on the same legacy productivity software," Manfra added. On the other hand, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Communications Frank Shaw emphasized the importance of collaboration, instead of discord, among the security community amid increasing cybersecurity threats. "We will continue to collaborate across the industry to jointly defend our customers and government agencies, and we will continue to support the U.S. government with our best software and security services," Shaw said.