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Comment by lumberjack | Hacker News Reader

What can we trace this security priority initiative of Microsoft back to?

Jan 15, 2002 email from Bill Gates to all MSFT staff [1]. Includes some real gems, like;

>So now, when we face a choice between adding features and resolving security issues, we need to choose security. Our products should emphasize security right out of the box, and we must constantly refine and improve that security as threats evolve.

1.http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2002/01/49826

I was hugely impressed by Bill when I read that memo, I checked with my friends who worked there to see if it was 'real' or a PR stunt, and they universally agreed it was very very real.

I suspect Google is about to be tested in this way given the adoption of Android on mobile devices. It is fortunate that they have a strong security culture to begin with but nothing proves that like being battle tested.

Google isn't the first company that would come to my mind. I'd rather go for Apple. Their mobile ecosystem might be a lot more secure than Android's, but the way they acknowledge OSX vulnerabilities and how soon they fix them is a weak spot.

Oracle with Java could also get a lot of heat.

Apple regularly loses security shootouts, and is widely derided by security people. Their only advantages are their niche status (which they are losing) and their lack of consideration towards old apps (they can dump old APIs which are hard to secure, and make other backwards-incompatible fixes, because they just don't care that much about backwards compatibility).

This is a rather biased view. Maybe check that top ten list again.

The one that Apple holds two positions in for arbitrary code execution vulnerabilities?

The other big advantage on mobile is a closed ecosystem and mandatory sandboxing.

Apple isn't a niche player in mobile. Wether you like Apple's App Store or not, in terms of security it's a raging success.

> Rather than developing standalone applications and Web sites, today we're moving towards smart clients with rich user interfaces interacting with Web services.

Spot on. 2002.

Good for him. This doesn't seem to be the attitude of many in the startup scene. It isn't the attitude of all too many app developers. It also doesn't seem to be the highest priority at Apple.

it was a response to the very real threat of Linux. MS was getting publicly beaten on an almost monthly basis by malware authors. It was a whack-a-mole contest to keep our boxes patched. I still scratch my head and wonder why our bosses have kept demanding Windows Windows Windows...

The "Summer of Worms", after Slammer, Blaster, and Welchia owned up some huge fraction of every Windows machine connected to the Internet, including large portions of the DoD. Microsoft's software security was repeatedly on the front page of CNN and the subject of Congressional hearings.

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