一名前微软员工被逮捕，并被控泄露Windows8和Windows7的早期版本。西雅图PI报道说，软件架构师Alex Kibkalo被指控窃取商业机密，并将Windows 8的机密测试版泄露给一位不具名的“法国科技博客”。据报道，Kibkalo在微软的一次糟糕的业绩评估后，被动机驱使泄露软件。windows7和windows8的详细信息和拷贝在软件开发过程中经常被泄露，这位法国博主在网上使用了一个昵称来保护他们的身份。

虽然Windows的拷贝经常被共享和泄露，但Kibkalo还被指控窃取了微软的“激活服务器软件开发工具包”，这是一个用于防止盗版的系统的软件。据报道，这名未透露姓名的法国博主在网上分享了该工具包，允许其他人绕过用于Microsoft Office和Windows的激活保护。在这名法国博主通过电子邮件与另一名员工联系后，微软确认了这名泄露信息的员工。经过一年多的调查，Kibkalo于周三被捕，这位前微软员工今天将在美国地区**出庭受审。

更新：CNET已获得**文件，表明Microsoft访问了博客的私人Hotmail帐户以跟踪泄密者的身份，公司认为这是合法的。此举引发了对Hotmail用户隐私的担忧，尽管Microsoft的隐私政策规定公司可能访问Hotmail（现在Outlook.com)帐户内容。

微软回应称：

During an investigation of an employee we discovered evidence that the employee was providing stolen IP, including code relating to our activation process, to a third party. In order to protect our customers and the security and integrity of our products, we conducted an investigation over many months with law enforcement agencies in multiple countries. This included the issuance of a court order for the search of a home relating to evidence of the criminal acts involved. The investigation repeatedly identified clear evidence that the third party involved intended to sell Microsoft IP and had done so in the past. As part of the investigation, we took the step of a limited review of this third party's Microsoft operated accounts. While Microsoft's terms of service make clear our permission for this type of review, this happens only in the most exceptional circumstances. We apply a rigorous process before reviewing such content. In this case, there was a thorough review by a legal team separate from the investigating team and strong evidence of a criminal act that met a standard comparable to that required to obtain a legal order to search other sites. In fact, as noted above, such a court order was issued in other aspects of the investigation.