Senator Urges FTC Probe Into Microsoft After Ascension Ransomware Attack

US Senator Ron Wyden urges the FTC to investigate Microsoft after its software contributed to a major ransomware attack on Ascension Hospital, exposing 5.6 million patient records.

A US senator is pushing for a formal investigation into Microsoft, claiming the company’s software enabled a massive ransomware attack on a major hospital system. In a letter (PDF) dated September 10, 2025, Senator Ron Wyden urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to hold Microsoft accountable for “dangerous, insecure software” that compromised the records of millions of patients from Ascension, one of the largest non-profit health care systems in the country.

An FTC spokesperson confirmed the agency had received the letter but wouldn’t comment further.

The Hack’s Vulnerable Point

New details from the senator’s office reveal how the 2024 hack began. A contractor’s laptop became infected with malware after they clicked a malicious link from a Bing ...