There was a lot of speculation about this issue because readers assumed that WireGuard's was the only account that got locked. There was actually a wave of account locks that happened at the same time. If you only saw one of the headlines you might assume it was targeted or the result of some directed conspiracy, not the result of a widespread process.

Microsoft did a (very!) bad job of communicating what was happening, but The Register has more information:

> He explained that both deactivations were executed as part of the Windows Hardware Program's account verification procedures.

> The company published a blog in October, giving devs a two-week warning that if their accounts had not been verified since April 2024, Microsoft would issue mandatory account verification notifications.

> "We worked hard to make sure partners understood this was coming, from emails, banners, reminders," said Davuluri.