Computer tech giant Microsoft recently admitted in federal court documents that it has the ability to break into its customers' email accounts and has done so in the past.

According to CNN Money, the company, believing desperate times call for desperate measures, was forced to break into the Hotmail account of a blogger, who received leaked proprietary software from an ex-employee.

"In this case we took extraordinary actions based on specific circumstances," John Frank, a top lawyer for Microsoft, said in a blog post Thursday night.

In 2012, Microsoft discovered Alex Kibkalo, a former Microsoft employee based in Lebanon, leaked the software to an anonymous blogger, according to an FBI complaint.

Because of the sensitive nature of the software and fearing it could empower other hackers, the company's lawyers approved the emergency action of pulling content.

The company's investigators sifted through numerous emails and Windows Live instant messages, which led to the arrest Wednesday of Kibkalo.

Frank said that based on the terms of service, Microsoft customers who use its communication products such as Outlook, Hotmail and Windows Live agree to "this type of review ... in the most exceptional circumstances."

The company's legal team approved the emergency action based on the amount of evidence they gathered, believing the blogger would try selling Microsoft's intellectual property that was illegally obtained.

Typically, law enforcement is required to conduct such actions after receiving a warrant from a judge, but the company argued that the servers, which stores its customers' information, is Microsoft property.

Electronic Privacy Information Center Director Ginger McCall told CNN that Microsoft's actions are disconcerting because it believes its customers' personal data belongs to the company.

"This is part of the broader problem with privacy policies," McCall said. "There are hidden terms that the users don't actually know are there. If the terms were out in the open, people would be horrified by them."

Microsoft's recent snooping comes on the heels of a national concern regarding the U.S. government spying on American citizens' computers without a warrant.

After this week's revelations, Microsoft implemented a new policy where if a similar incident occurs, it will seek the approval of an outside lawyer who was a former federal judge.