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Microsoft suspends dev accounts for high-profile open source projects

Microsoft suspends dev accounts for high-profile open source projects

N19PEDL2

Comments (111)

  • mellosouls
    Discussed here yesterday:Microsoft terminates VeraCrypt account, halting Windows updates (575 points, 239 comments)https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47690977
  • dontdoxxme
    Microsoft loves sending emails with "Action required" in the subject, when actually no action is required, or it doesn't apply to you, or whatever. Such corporate speak. It's fun searching your email for "Action required" and finding all the things you were supposed to do and it turns out didn't need to do anything about.
  • xg15
    > We're taking this as an opportunity to review how we communicate changes like this and make sure we're doing it better.As I'm sure the Vogons did after they blew up Earth for the hyperspace bypass road and realized the planet had inexplicably still been inhabitated.
  • tacker2000
    In the tech world, security is mostly just a theater , it is used to push though unwanted and unpopular things, like access control, privacy invasion, etc...All this signing business, leads to one party having the final say, and guess what, they are going to abuse that power...
  • pino83
    Owwwwww...... :DI've no idea whether MS either has a veeeeery clever plan about what they are doing, and I just don't get it, or whether that's just completely stupid in the current times when Windows' fanbase is somewhat declining anyways.On the other hand, people always have a hard time understanding the trouble they order when they let things centralize too much. When they are too okay with depending on e.g. BigTech companies too much.And in that regard, those news are probably actually good news... It helps people learning about how things work... So they can make better decisions in the future. Better for all of us.
  • ectospheno
    https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/09/microsoft_dev_account...Microsoft response at the end of that article.
  • rob74
  • zarzavat
    I'm amused by this saga. Wireguard is working just fine on my machines (Linux and Mac).Apparently nobody at Microsoft considered that blocking critical software hurts Microsoft more than the open source developers being blocked.
  • rixthefox
    lol, Microslop shooting themselves in the foot once again.At this point people will move to MacOS or Linux because so much damage to their brand can’t simply be ignored anymore.
  • happymellon
    > Wednesday, Microsoft Vice President Scott Hanselman said the developer accounts were automatically suspended because they failed the "mandatory account verification for all partners in the Windows Hardware Program who have not completed account verification since April 2024" that the company had been emailing "everyone" about since October 2025.It doesn't sound like suspention, because they would be able to fill out the form and get unsuspended. This is closer to account termination.
  • lynndotpy
    > The list of affected projects includes, but is not limited to, Virtual Private Network (VPN) software WireGuard, on-the-fly encryption (OTFE) utility VeraCrypt, the MemTest86 Random Access Memory (RAM) testing and diagnosis tool, and the Windscribe VPN software.This, on top of the recent mystery app updates pushed by Apple, has me concerned. So much of security relies on the assumption that, say, Apple, Google, or Microsoft can't be coerced into pushing an update that undermines the entire security model. The "Apple gets hit with a wrench attack" is more salient nowadays.Hopefully this is nothing but I think it's worth being vigilant. But judging by Microsoft's response, it seems more likely to be an administrative error commensurate with the state of their company rather than something more nefarious.
  • mittermayr
    Just got a Wireguard update on Windows a minute ago, so seems resolved?
  • blueTiger33
    well, well, well...what do we have here? another big tech trying to undermine competition? :D Never happened before
  • TiredOfLife
    Seems that a developer of kernel level anticheat also was suspended. So not all is as bad.
  • andrewstuart
    I feel like Hanselman is one of the few old generation Microsoft people. When he leaves it’ll be young people who don’t know Microsoft and have no understanding of or connection with Microsoft products.
  • ksk23
    Would be nice if any outlet could actually check; did, or did Microsoft not inform these devs beforehand?!
  • Talderigi
    open source but the off switch is centralized
  • sneak
    FYI: on macOS you can’t even ship VPN software that uses the modern APIs outside of the app store for self-distribution. An ADP membership is required, full stop.
  • cbeach
    Alongside talk from the UK Labour government about intervening on VPNs, I'm getting uneasy vibes about this move, especially since Microsoft is one of the most government-friendly corporations in the big tech arena.The surveillance state is growing more sinister every day (especially in the UK), but the efforts are somewhat thwarted by the existence of VPNs.Once they find a way to undermine VPNs, the UK govt will have literal CCP-level control over our access to information and communication.
  • myko
    Modern computing does not make me feel good. Really hate this signing business controlled by the OS vendors. I get the added security benefits, but I'm not sure the tradeoff is worth it.
  • shevy-java
    Well, Microsoft is evil so no surprise - but this seems like targeted censorship:"The list of affected projects includes, but is not limited to, Virtual Private Network (VPN) software WireGuard, on-the-fly encryption (OTFE) utility VeraCrypt, the MemTest86 Random Access Memory (RAM) testing and diagnosis tool, and the Windscribe VPN software."It seems to go against VPN right? Is there a connection to other things such as the mem-test tool? This one is the only one that does not fit here. Or perhaps we don't have the full picture.
  • dfir-lab
    [dead]
  • 0gs
    i mean this has to be Mythos related, no? biiiig stretch?
  • jmclnx
    I read elsewhere (here?) that it was the main developer of WireGuard who had their account suspended. If true, and based on what I read seems it is true, I am surprised this did not reach the "mainstream" press.All I can say is this is another proof of M/S abuse of their users:https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47710149
  • snarfy
    It's really just typical corporate bs."I've been using the same account doing the same actions for 10 years what changed""We updated our policy 2 years ago. We have been sending you vaguely worded emails this would happen for 2 years, straight to your junk hotmail account you setup for this, why didn't you read them?"Nothing nefarious unless you consider bureaucracy
  • Fokamul
    [flagged]