Senator blasts Microsoft for 'dangerous, insecure software' that helped pwn US hospitals

Microsoft is back in the firing line after US Senator Ron Wyden accused Redmond of shipping "dangerous, insecure software" that helped cybercrooks cripple one of America's largest hospital networks.

Wyden's letter [PDF], delivered to FTC chair Andrew Ferguson on September 10, paints Microsoft not just as a careless vendor, but as a danger to national security.

"I urge the FTC to investigate Microsoft and hold the company responsible for the serious harm it has caused by delivering dangerous, insecure software to the US government and to critical infrastructure entities, such as those in the US healthcare sector," Wyden wrote.

"Without timely action, Microsoft's culture of negligent cybersecurity, combined with its de facto monopolization of the enterprise operating system market, poses a serious national security threat and makes additional hacks inevitable."

The case stems from last year's ransomware attack against Ascension, a Catholic nonprofit that runs more ...