Microsoft confirms Russian spy was employee, report says
Microsoft has confirmed that the “12th alleged member” of the recently exposed Russian spy ring worked for Microsoft MCTS Training at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Wash., according to a new report by the Bloomberg news service.

Top Russian spy ring technology screw-ups

Bloomberg said a Microsoft spokesperson in Moscow confirmed that Alexey Karetnikov, who was detained by U.S. officials and deported to Russia, worked for Microsoft as a software tester for about nine months.

Karetnikov is “a Russian citizen in his early-to-mid-20s,” the Washington Post reported. Although federal authorities reportedly detained Karetnikov as part of their investigation into the Russian spy ring operating in the United States, there was not enough evidence to charge the man with a crime so we has detained on immigration violations.

“He was just in the early stages; had just set up shop,” and had “obtained absolutely no information,” an anonymous federal law enforcement official told the Post.

A Facebook profile for “Alexey V. Karetnikov” lists the man’s employers as Microsoft MCITP Certification and “Neobit,” and his current city as Redmond, Wash.

Follow Jon Brodkin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jbrodkin

Read more about security in Network World’s Security section.