Forwarded from: Paul Robichaux <paul@private> Oh puhleeze. Your agenda is showing, Rick. This is not news, for two reasons: 1. Geer claimed to be speaking for @stake. He wasn't. @stake fired him. This is not "reflective of Microsoft's ... ability to silence experts" as much as it is @stake's attempts to control who gets to speak for them. There have been numerous other cases where public statements by faux spokesmen which purported to be "company policy" ended up costing the offender a job. This is no different. After all, if MS was so able to silence people, how come Georgi Guninski isn't locked in a basement somewhere in Redmond? If it's so effective at quelling criticism, why is Russ Cooper still a free man? 2. CXO Magazine (whoever they are) are free to accept, or not, paid advertising from any source. A biased and one-sided report such as this probably wouldn't be welcomed by any of the mainstream publishers; I didn't see any ads mentioning it in any of the other advertising-supported newsletters I receive. Cheers, -Paul -=- Fowarded from: Dan Verton <Dan_Verton@private> Rick, I have to disagree a little with what you said here about Geer. I broke this story yesterday, but was unable to confirm that he had in fact been fired. However, what this shows (and you are right that this does not spell good things for security) is that even the best minds in IT security lack even the most basic political skills that are absolutely necessary to the success of important ideas. Why 7 top security professionals who are well-respected would claim "independence" and then allow their independent thinking (and a very valuable report) to be undermined by an entangling alliance with a staunch anti-Microsoft bashing organization (the CCIA) makes no sense at all. They are responsible for doing a disservice to their own scholarship. And with all of the money and infrastructure that these guys had access to that would have enabled them to publish a truly independent report with no such entangling alliances means that none of this had to happen. Dan Verton > From: InfoSec News <isn@private> > Reply-To: InfoSec News <isn@private> > Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2003 03:24:44 -0500 (CDT) > To: isn@private > Subject: [ISN] Technology Firm With Ties to Microsoft Fires Executive Over Criticism > > Forwarded from: Richard Forno <rforno@private> > > Very disturbing developments.....and we wonder why IT security will > never really improve....look no further than this story to learn > why. > > -rick > Infowarrior.org > > > http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGASNQR81LD.html > > By Ted Bridis > The Associated Press > > WASHINGTON (AP) - The chief technology officer for a technology firm > that works closely with Microsoft Corp. lost his job after he helped > write a study critical of the insecurity of Microsoft software. > > Daniel E. Geer Jr., an expert with nearly three decades studying > technology and computer security, learned Thursday he was no longer > employed by AtStake Inc. of Cambridge, Mass. - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomo@private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
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