According to yesterday's Windows Secrets post, looks like it's probably Microsoft.

You may have known or assumed that already, of course; it's not the first time Windows has been caught dialing in without strict permission.

Of course one wants a vendor who proactively works to correct issues in their software, and it sounds like this was a bug correction for a fairly serious bug. But it would be much easier to stomach the "It's for your own good" line coming out of Microsoft if they weren't doing a lot of things that patently aren't for your good and saying the same thing about them. "Window Genuine Advantage" comes to mind.

For the corporate manager this particular incident doesn't appear to be a concern as it seems that WSUS is not affected... but there's nothing preventing it from being subject to similar lapses in the future. And at heart, this is really a security issue-do you control your systems, or does Microsoft? Whether you trust them or not, it may be important to know the answer to that question.