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Microsoft has officially banned crypto mining within its Azure cloud services in a rather unobtrusive way.
An update (opens in new tab) the Universal Online Services License Terms, which mainly apply to the cloud platform, state that “mining of cryptocurrency is prohibited without Microsoft’s prior approval”.
The post goes on to explain that written approval is required for those who wish to use the company’s services for crypto mining, clarifying that “neither the client nor those accessing any online service through the client” may use it for this purpose .
Mining hazards
The policy change was too Posted (opens in new tab) in the Azure solution area of the Microsoft Partner Community webpage, under the heading “Important actions partners should take to secure the partner ecosystem”.
Here it was listed as one of the changes to “minimize potential fraud damage to your customers’ subscriptions”. Again, it stressed the need for “pre-written approval… granted by Microsoft” to approve the use of its servers for purchasing the digital tokens.
Microsoft is concerned about the dangers such activities pose to their infrastructure. In response to a question from the The register (opens in new tab)the tech giant noted that mining cryptocurrencies “can cause disruption or even compromise of online services and its users,” adding that crypto mining “can often be linked to cyber fraud and abuse attacks such as unauthorized access to and use of customer resources.”
However, they added the caveat that crypto mining “may be considered for security detection testing and investigation.”
Microsoft is not alone in restricting crypto mining on its cloud platforms. Google Cloud, Oracle, and OHVcloud have all banned it from their services, and Amazon Web Services only allows it within the paid subscription tiers.
Microsoft has banned mining at its free tier for a while now, but has only now escalated its policy to its paid options.