http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200506280201.html 06/28/2005 The Asahi Shimbun U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp. will increase cooperation with the National Police Agency to give authorities an upper hand in the battle against cybercrimes and the spread of viruses, company founder Bill Gates said Tuesday. Under the agreement reached in April, Microsoft will inform the NPA about flaws and vulnerabilities in the Windows operating system before such information is made public. The company will also provide special engineering analyses that are needed in investigating cybercrimes, such as computer viruses, said Gates, who was visiting Tokyo for business purposes and a symposium. The NPA and Microsoft also agreed to establish hot lines so that engineers from both sides can better coordinate countermeasures while strictly controlling information, according to Microsoft. "We can contribute to enhancing information security and reducing cybercrimes," a Microsoft official said. Microsoft publicizes information on Windows glitches, but on a fixed schedule to prevent virus creators, computer hackers and others from exploiting such flaws for malicious purposes. With the early warnings from Microsoft, the NPA will be able to quickly take countermeasures against cybercrimes before the problems are publicized. Since technological information often contains corporate secrets, computer companies have been reluctant to provide data to NPA investigators, fearing that the secrets could be leaked to rival companies. But Microsoft said it has concluded similar agreements with police agencies in the United States and Europe. (IHT/Asahi: June 28, 2005) _________________________________________ Attend the Black Hat Briefings and Training, Las Vegas July 23-28 - 2,000+ international security experts, 10 tracks, no vendor pitches. www.blackhat.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.3 : Tue Jun 28 2005 - 00:42:33 PDT