Microsoft Security Exec Suggests Internet Tax To Pay For 'Computer Health Care' Program

from the is-that-an-HMO-or-a-PPO? dept

Tank Szuba alerts us to the story about a Microsoft security exec suggesting that it might make sense to implement an internet usage tax to help fund a "computer healthcare system" to fix the notoriously insecure software that his company produces. It doesn't sound like a well-thought out proposal. It seems more like a brainstorm from a panel discussion by Scott Charney, Microsoft's Vice President for Trustworthy Computing. He suggests, as others have, that a system could be setup for quarantining infected computers, but when asked how to pay for it, he suggests such a tax. Or, of course, Microsoft could make software that doesn't have as many security holes.

Charney seems to model his idea off of our broken healthcare system:

"I actually think the health care model ... might be an interesting way to think about the problem,"

Has he looked at how well healthcare has been working lately? Of course, as with healthcare, the real issue should be preventative efforts, and those mainly start with Microsoft and how it architects its software. But I guess it's easier to just ask everyone to pay a tax to hide that.

Filed Under: computer security, healthcare, scott charney, tax