IBM denies sharing customer information with U.S. government, asserts it could challenge any data demands through “judicial action or other means.”

IBM denies sharing customer data with the U.S. government and says it’s going to challenge any demands for info through “judicial action or other means.”

IBM on Friday issued an open letter to its clients assuring them that it has not relinquished customer data to the U.S. government and it pointedly said it’ll do whatever is important to guard such data and notify customers of any government requests.

The letter was issued soon after the Intercept News Site reported last week that that classified documents pilfered by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden showed that the NSA had built technology to automatically infect “potentially millions of computers” worldwide with malware to ensure that the agency to glean data from foreign Internet and make contact with networks.

[Want more at the fallout on NSA spying? Read NSA Denies Impersonating Facebook To Serve Malware.]

“Our business model sets us except for a number of the companies which have been linked to the surveillance programs which have been disclosed,” stated IBM senior VP, legal and regulatory affairs, Robert C. Weber, within the open letter, alluding to NSA’s Prism program and other data-collection initiatives. “Unlike those companies, IBM’s primary business doesn’t involve providing telephone or Internet-based communication services to the majority.”

As a business that gives services to corporations and other enterprise customers, IBM said its customer relationships are governed by contracts. Even in cases where IBM has access to individual communications through use of shopper infrastructure, that data is owned by the shopper.

“If a central authority wants access to data held by IBM on behalf of an enterprise client, we’d expect that government to deal directly with that client,” wrote Weber. And if the U.S. government were to serve a countrywide security order on IBM to procure client data and impose a gag order prohibiting IBM from notifying that client, “IBM will take appropriate steps to challenge the gag order through judicial action or other means.”

Despite its protests of innocence, IBM in addition to other U.S.-based businesses are to be suffering serious business consequences caused by the NSA Prism scandal. In November, The middle for Strategic Studies in Washington D.C. alleged that China is retaliating for U.S. government surveillance programs by curbing purchases from IBM, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, and other U.S. tech firms. IBM’s sales in China declined by 23% in 2013, contributing to a 5% overall decline in revenues for the year.

In December the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Pension & Relief Fund, that is heavily invested in IBM stock, sued the corporate accusing it of concealing ties to the spying scandal that hit business in China and ultimately ended in a $12 billion drop inside the company’s stock value.

Concluding his letter, Weber challenged the U.S. government to have “robust debate” on surveillance reforms including new transparency provisions that might expose the scope of intelligence programs and knowledge collected. He also known as on all governments to not find ways around encryption technology intended to give protection to business data. Last week NSA whistleblower Snowden called encryption the last, best defense against “the dark arts within the digital realm.”

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Doug Henschen is Executive Editor of InformationWeek, where he covers the intersection of enterprise applications with information management, business intelligence, big data and analytics. He previously served as editor in chief of Intelligent Enterprise, editor in chief of … View Full Bio

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