Reactions To Microsofts Security Initiative

Recently, Bill Gates announced his intention to improve the quality of security services offered by Microsoft. To bolster this talk, the Redmond software king released their free AntiSpyware tool, announced a more secure Internet Explorer 7, released a security-based update of SQL Server 2005, and bought the enterprise security company Sybari. All of these moves were made with the intention of addressing long-existing security issues the company faces. However, reaction to Microsoft's security push has been one of "show me". InformationWeek.com, Bob Evans looks Microsoft's approach to their new strategy: Microsoft and Gates are betting that their customers will give the company and its somewhat shaky security history another 6-9 months to substantially improve existing products while simultaneously releasing new software conceived and developed with security as a top priority. It's as if Gates and Co. have pushed a massive stack of chips into the middle of the table and said, "This matches what your company's already spent on Windows infrastructure and applications and standardization, and"--they push another heaping pile into the center of the table--"this raise represents what you'd have to spend on top of that to migrate to a different platform." Now, granted, software is not simple to create, and the escalating skills and inventiveness of the loathsome bastards behind the epidemic of cybercrime present a daunting challenge. And, to be sure, Microsoft has significantly increased its commitment to making all of its products and technologies more secure. But that's not enough. It's not enough to just stare across the table and say, "I know you won't drop out because you're already invested every chip you have and you've got nowhere to go, so just sit tight and wait til I decide what I'm gonna do."