Insider Security Attacks On The Rise, MS Says

from the the-human-factor dept

Microsoft is warning that "malicious insider" security attacks are on the rise as the economy churns out more and more disgruntled and/or desperate laid-off workers. Combine this with the high number of data breaches that are blamed on human error, and it's clear that the human factor remains a big problem in IT security. Technology often gets the blame for data breaches and leaks, but it's important to remember that in many cases, it's the implementation of the technology, or the policies behind it, that are to blame. For instance, in the massive TJX breach, a lot was made of the fact that the company's WiFi network was protected only by the easily cracked WEP security standard. But somewhere along the line, a human decision was made not to upgrade to something stronger, while another decision was made to transmit credit-card data without encryption. Whether it's simple incompetence or malicious activity, humans often surpass technology as the weakest link in the security chain.

Filed Under: insiders, security
Companies: microsoft

Next, Microsoft Will Release An Even Worse Operating System To Jack Up The Prices On Vista...

from the not-sure-I-see-it dept

While it is rather amusing to see customers so interested in sticking with Windows XP rather than the supposedly more advanced Windows Vista that they're willing to pay a fee for the downgrade, it's tough to see much merit in the claim that such a charge is an antitrust violation. But, of course, that won't stop the lawyers from trying to convince a court that it most certainly is an abuse of a monopoly position. There's nothing monopolistic about charging more for a product that people want more. It certainly is ridiculous to claim that this is all a plan by Microsoft to squeeze extra money out of people by use of its monopoly position. Microsoft, by all accounts, would like nothing more than for folks to stop wanting to buy XP. The launch of Vista has been a massive disappointment for the company, not a part of a nefarious strategy to jack up the prices on XP.

Filed Under: antitrust, class action, vista, xp
Companies: microsoft

Microsoft's Virus Bounty Plan Sound Familiar? It Should

from the worked-so-well-the-first-time dept

When I started seeing stories all over the web about Microsoft's offer of a $250,000 bounty for the authors of the Conficker virus, I thought that the plan sounded awfully familiar. Going through the Techdirt archives, I turned up some stories on bounties for phishers and spammers, then found a post from 2003 talking about how the company had set aside $5 million for bounties on people who wrote viruses and worms. While it's not clear if Microsoft has actually paid out any of that cash, it is pretty clear that the bounty plan hasn't done much to make Windows any more secure since it was announced. And neither will this latest bounty. Like the previous plan, it's gotten Microsoft tons of press that makes the company look tough -- but it doesn't solve the underlying security problems of the Windows platform. Catching the people who wrote the Conficker worm won't undo any of the problems they've exposed, and it certainly won't make Windows users any more secure.

Filed Under: bounty, cornficker, virus
Companies: microsoft

Disappointing: Mozilla Siding With Bogus EU Antitrust Action Against Microsoft

from the just-go-out-and-compete dept

Last month, it seemed silly that EU regulators were pursuing Microsoft for antitrust violations in the browser market for bundling IE. It was clear that some of the initial complaints had come from Opera -- an also-ran in the browser market. However, it seemed silly because there is vibrant and growing competition in the marketplace. Firefox has continued to grow its market share, and in the past few years we've seen new entrants in the browser market from Apple and Google -- both of whom have established small, but significant footholds.

So, it's especially disappointing to read that the Mozilla Foundation appears to be siding with the regulators, complaining about Microsoft's actions. Obviously, Mozilla is competing with Microsoft in this space, so at a first pass it may seem in their best interests to lobby the EU to punish Microsoft. But it's disingenuous to say the least. Mozilla got where it did because it competed effectively. It built a better, more secure browser that many people made the choice to support over IE. In fact, Firefox's chief architect, apparently unaware of what his "bosses" were cooking up, seems to have recently contradicted the Mozilla Foundation's new position, where he admitted that he couldn't see how anyone with a straight face could claim that Microsoft's ability to bundle created a monopoly, noting that Firefox's success in growing marketshare showed that making yourself "demonstrably better" worked. Oops.

Filed Under: antitrust, browsers, bundling, eu, firefox, internet explorer, regulators
Companies: microsoft, mozilla

Unpatched, Virus-Infected Windows To Blame For Grounded French Fighter Pilots And Halt To Traffic Arrests In Houston

from the gov't-security dept

Reader Calvin sends in two separate stories of government institutions who apparently failed to patch their Windows machines to protect against the Conficker virus -- despite the patch being available for many months. First, Houston police have stopped arresting people with outstanding traffic warrants and shut down the municipal court system for a few days to try to deal with their computer systems being overrun by the virus. Then, across the Atlantic, the French Navy is dealing with a similar problem, forcing them to ground many of their fighter planes. Some naval staff were told not to turn on their computers at all, as apparently the Navy's internal computer network has been hit by the virus as well. Apparently, now might be a good time to run some traffic lights in Houston or invade France (kidding, kidding...).

Filed Under: cornficker, france, houston, security, viruses
Companies: microsoft

Microsoft Claims Patent Holder Got A Job At Microsoft To Get Info Used In Patent Lawsuits

from the patent-espionage dept

We see all sorts of strange patent-related lawsuits around here, but this one probably qualifies for the most extreme attempt by a patent holder to come up with info for the sake of a patent lawsuit. Apparently (and this is according to Microsoft), Miki Mullor, CEO of a company called Ancora Technologies, applied for a job at Microsoft while still working for Ancora. He got the job, and then used the job to download all sorts of info unrelated to his job -- but which was helpful in allowing Ancora to sue a bunch of companies, including Dell, HP and Toshiba claiming that their use of Microsoft anti-piracy technology violated Ancora's patents on anti-piracy technology. We've seen plenty of questionable patent lawsuits... and lots of stories about corporate espionage, but not many that combined both topics. Update on 11/17/2009: The company informs us that the companies have settled.

Filed Under: anti-piracy, corporate espionage, miki mullor, patents
Companies: ancora, microsoft

Behind Nearly Every Google Complaint? A Lobbyist And A Flailing Competitor

from the funny-how-the-system-works dept

Plenty of folks have been sending in links to Wired's article on The Plot to Kill Google, which basically shows how both Microsoft and AT&T -- two companies scared to death by Google, are now working hard not to build better products to beat Google in the marketplace -- but on hiring better lobbyists and marketers to try to destroy public perception of Google. Of course, Google has been doing a bit of the same thing in reverse... pointing out that every bit of critical information just so happens to come from companies or individuals working for (or at least funded by) AT&T or Microsoft. The whole thing has turned into a huge public relations nightmare, with little focus on providing actual value. This is unfortunate. It may be naive in this day and age, but wouldn't it be nice if companies actually focused on creating value, rather than crafting PR schemes directed at politicians and bureaucrats to tear down their competitors?

Filed Under: antitrust, competition, lobbying
Companies: at&t, google, microsoft

EU Regulators Can't Resist: Go After Microsoft For Antitrust Yet Again

from the punching-bag dept

Microsoft is becoming quite the antitrust punching bag over in Europe. After a years long fight concerning antitrust charges in Europe, Microsoft finally gave in and agreed to pay up. So, now the matter is over with, right? No, of course not. EU regulators are back at it, telling Microsoft that the company is probably violating antitrust laws by bundling Microsoft Internet Explorer with Windows. This seems like an odd issue to bring up now as there is increasing competition in the browser market. Firefox's marketshare has continued to climb. Google has entered the market with Chrome. Safari is gaining increasing life (in part due to the iPhone) and there are numerous other upstarts as well. The idea that Microsoft is somehow exerting undue influence on the browser market (a market that, for the most part, involves free software) seems rather odd. It seems to confirm the initial opinion that many had of the original antitrust lawsuit in the EU against Microsoft. It's more about a simple dislike for Microsoft than any actual antitrust violation.

Filed Under: antitrust, browsers, bundling, eu, internet explorer, regulators
Companies: microsoft

Mass Failure Of 30GB Zunes Shows That At Least A Few People Actually Own Zunes

from the who-knew? dept

It's no secret that Microsoft's "iPod killer" Zune device has been a pretty big disappointment in terms of sales -- but who knew that the most attention the Zune would get in ages would be for having all of the 30 GB models fail at once. Obviously, there's some sort of software bug that caught Microsoft by surprise (apparently Zune's were never taught to understand leap years), causing a ton of Zunes to freeze up at the same time. At least, Microsoft can take a little comfort in knowing that there really are some people out there who use their Zunes.

Filed Under: leap year, software bug, zune
Companies: microsoft

Google, Apple, Microsoft Sued Over Patent For Thumbnail Icons

from the what-counts-as-a-patent-these-days dept

As a bit of a non-Christmas gift, it appears that a patent holder, using the infamous Niro Scavone law firm (to whom the name "Patent Troll" was first applied) has sued Google, Apple and Microsoft over a patent that the patent holder appears to believe covers any sort of thumbnail image that shows some of the actual file. You can read the full patent for a system and method for iconic software environment management and then ponder what is allowed to pass as a legitimate patent these days. The patent was first filed in 2001, but the priority date appears to be 1998. Either way, you'd be hard pressed to find anything in the patent that wouldn't have been considered a natural progression in 1998 (or well before that). Nothing like ending the year with yet another ridiculous patent lawsuit.

Filed Under: patents, thumbnails
Companies: apple, google, microsoft, niro scavone