http://news.com.com/2010-1074-957970.html Microsoft's new deal with Uncle Sam By Declan McCullagh September 16, 2002, 4:00 AM PT WASHINGTON--Why does the White House refuse to tell Microsoft to get tough on security? On Wednesday, the Bush administration is scheduled to publish its proposal to increase the security of the Internet. Properly titled the "National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace," it's said to talk with great earnestness about helping home users safeguard their computers, about thwarting online intrusions into business systems, and about providing better training to federal network administrators. But, according to people familiar with the draft report, it pays scant attention to Microsoft, which has been responsible for more online security woes than any other company in history. Such an absence would be glaring. Intentional design choices and unintentional bugs in Microsoft Windows, Outlook, Word and Explorer have created vulnerabilities so numerous they've become legendary. Shoddy default settings have practically begged intruders to plunder Windows-equipped PCs. Any serious look at Internet security has to start with the world's largest software company. But the Bush administration appears to have punted. During an invitation-only briefing last Thursday, a National Security Council official told about two dozen attendees from civil liberties groups and trade associations that the White House had no problem with the Internet's "monoculture" environment. Biologists warn against plant monoculture, which permits pathogens to spread like wildfire. The same principle applies to malicious code and our largely-Microsoft Internet environment. [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ Recent CNET News.com articles: http://news.search.com/search?q=declan CNET Radio 9:40 am ET weekdays: http://cnet.com/broadband/0-7227152.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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