Microsoft contractors in China listened to Skype chats too

San Francisco: Microsoft contractors in China reportedly listened to calls made on Skype and digital assistant Cortana as they reviewed thousands of audio recordings from Skype and Cortana without cybersecurity protection.

A Guardian report on Friday quoted an unidentified former Microsoft contractor as saying that he reviewed thousands of audio recordings from Skype and Cortana on his personal laptop from his home in Beijing over a two-year period.

The contractor said that he heard “all kinds of unusual conversations” while performing the transcription.

“It sounds a bit crazy now, after educating myself on computer security, that they gave me the URL, username and password sent over email,” he was quoted as saying.