The following line really got to me. “Look, the only way you can tackle security issues is by getting out ahead of them and clearly communicating to your users the threat, and the clear guidance on how to be safe.” Are you kidding me? When was the last time Microsoft EVER got ahead of a security issue ? Till Open Source software and the popularity of Firefox forced Microsoft to suddenly acquire the “Security Religion”, Microsoft used to live in constant denial that there were even any holes in their precious windows. They tend to forget but this was the company that would actually bash researchers for finding and reporting vulnerabilities in their OS. And as far as being “safe” is concerned, I found a way to be safe. I STOPPED using that malware infested OS called Windows and switched to OSX. I have never felt safer on my computer since that day.
Stepto is lecturing Apple at the time when Microsoft is facing YET ANOTHER zero day exploit ! He seems to have the attitude that “we patch stuff every day, so we are the security experts”. His sarcastic quote from his blog states “But hey, I’ve only been doing it for years now so what do I know.” Sorry to inform you Mr. Toulouse, but in this business that doesn’t make you an expert. It just means that you (Microsoft) do a LOUSY job when it comes to writing secure software. Would Steve Ballmer take kindly to the former executives of Enron advising him on what to do with Microsoft’s $60 billion? I didn’t think so.
It would do well for Microsoft to work on their malware infested OS instead of pointing fingers at other companies. After all, the record on viruses worms and spyware when Windows is compared to OS X is still > 100,000 to NONE!
Here’s another quote from Mr. Toulouse’s blog. “… and mark my words, the company will have to seek outside expertise in the form of a head of security communications in the next 12 months.” Well Stephen. Consider your words marked. That’s the beauty of the internet. Words can come back to haunt you and there’s really nowhere to hide.