Sen. Wyden seeks FTC probe into Microsoft over Ascension cyberattack

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden is urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Microsoft, saying weak security practices at the tech company helped enable a 2024 ransomware attack on St. Louis-based Ascension hospitals, Bloomberg reported Sept. 10. In a letter sent Sept. 10 to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Sen. Wyden accused Microsoft of “gross cybersecurity negligence” that left critical infrastructure vulnerable. He cited the 2024 ransomware attack on Ascension, one of the country’s largest nonprofit health systems, which forced hospitals to suspend surgeries and compromised data belonging to more than 5 million patients.

Sen. Wyden said his office’s review found the breach began after a contractor using Microsoft’s Bing search engine clicked on a malicious link, inadvertently downloading ma