European governments to get a sneak peek at Microsoft source code

MUMBAI, INDIA: Microsoft has opened a Transparency Center in the Belgian capital, offering European governments a look at its source code, the company said in a recent blog post.

The center, opened in Brussels last week, will enable governments to review and assess the source code of Microsoft products and to access important security information in a secure environment," Microsoft said.

Microsoft is also opening up source codes for a number of enterprise products, and encouraging governments to run their own analysis to help reassure customers that Microsoft products do not contain any hidden back doors.

It must be noted that claims about back doors in Microsoft software had been made long before leaked documents from Edward Snowden revealed the extent to which technology companies had been cooperating with the NSA. Microsoft however, denied the allegations.

To date, 42 agencies from 23 governments, including the European Commission, have signed up to the GSP, informs Matt Thomlinson, VP, Microsoft Security.

"Governments around the world are under increased and increasing pressure to protect their citizens and critical assets from cyber-attack. Ensuring the defense of national infrastructure from online threats calls for a high level of openness and cooperation between public and private sectors," he says.

According to reports, the center is the second such facility the company has built-the first was opened in Redmond last year-and will be open to governments that have signed up to the company's Government Security Program, which lets officials take a look at technical documentation, get Microsoft's intelligence data including details on future patches, and get more details on its cloud services.

Microsoft says it plans to open more Transparency Centers in Europe, the Americas and Asia, and increase the number of products whose source code is available for inspection.