Microsoft president acknowledges responsibility for cybersecurity lapses to Congress.
"We realize that we can and should do better, and we offer our sincere apologies and regret to those affected," reads Smith's statement at the House Homeland Security Committee hearing. Smith is scheduled to testify before the panel on Thursday afternoon in a session meant to assess the impact of Microsoft's "cybersecurity deficiencies" on homeland security.
In the last year, Microsoft has been under scrutiny for two massive hacking incidents allegedly orchestrated by Chinese and Russian spies.
A report published in April by the United States Cyber Safety Review Board discovered that Microsoft made a series of "avoidable mistakes" that enabled Chinese hackers to infiltrate the company's network and eventually breach the email accounts of high-ranking US officials, including the Secretary of Commerce. The panel, made up of government and private cybersecurity specialists under the Department of Homeland Security, provided these recommendations.
Smith mentions that Microsoft has been implementing these changes to its cybersecurity protocols for several months.
