Cybersecurity Expert: I'd Rather Hack Amazon Than Microsoft

By Staff Writer

Nov 22, 2015 09:16 PM EST

It seems Amazon may be the more favored site for hackers now and no longer Microsoft. At least that's just how Bryan Seely, a cybersecurity consultant based in Seattle, sees the situation now in the realm of cybersecurity.

In an interview with the Puget Sound Business Journal, Seely asserts that with cloud technology, Microsoft storing user's data is like Fort Knox opening safety deposit boxes but Microsoft needed to prove the data is safe.

That proof would be the company's new Redmond-based Cyber Defense Operations Center, a facility that serves to connect security experts who monitor threats with security partners, governments and enterprise customers. In addition, Microsoft is also building a new security group dedicated to large-scale enterprise customers to boost security.

There is also Microsoft's advocacy for user privacy, especially with people like Brad Smith as the company's president. As a vocal privacy advocate, he has filed lawsuits against U.S. spy agencies in their attempts to access customer data.

On the other hand, there have been some concerns raised against Amazon after it was reported that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been using Amazon Web Services and that Amazon has built out a massive team in Virginia to work with government agencies.

"If I had to go after one or the other, I'd probably go after Amazon as a hacker," Seely remarked. "Microsoft fights against people trying to steal customer data...and they're protecting that data from within."

Mikko Hypponen, the chief research officer for F-Secure, a Finnish security company, shares the same view about Microsoft's current security reputation.

"They've changed themselves from worst in class to the best in class," Hypponen said in an interview with the New York Times. "They started taking security very seriously."

The statements pronounced by the aforementioned security experts coincided with some major security changes being implemented at Amazon.

PC Magazine reports that Amazon is setting up a two-step verification system for the site, which entails the user logging in to the Amazon website and also provide verification via phone call or text message.

These measures were set in place in anticipation of the influx of visitors in the site for the Black Friday up until the holiday shopping season to protect customers from possible incidences of hacking and fraud.

It remains to be seen if and how these security measures set by Amazon would be effective in deterring hackers.

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