"Microsoft disputes that it covered up China’s relentless hacking of separatist activists", 31 Dec 2015.

Hotmail users in China were the target of a concerted hacking campaign by China…apparently focused on Tibetan and Uighur leaders who used Microsoft’s Hotmail service. Reuters revealed that Microsoft had not informed its users in 2011 that they were the targets…At the time, Microsoft…just forced affected users to change their passwords, instead of telling the Hotmail users they were targets of a hack…

After the report, Microsoft said it will reverse its stance and start warning users if it thinks a state is trying to hack into those accounts…Speaking to Quartz, a Microsoft spokesman disputed the Reuters report...“Our primary concern was ensuring that our customers quickly took practical steps to secure their accounts, including by forcing a password reset.”

Warning users that they’re the targets of a government hacking attack is in vogue among tech companies. Twitter issued alerts to some users on Dec. 11 that a government was probably trying to get into their accounts, although it doesn’t appear to have a public policy outlining the warning system. Yahoo did the same 10 days later. These firms have lagged behind Facebook, which announced its nation-state hacking alert system in October, and Google, which has offered the service since 2012…