Microsoft May Delay Products to Fix Security

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-000005547jan22.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dtechnology

January 22, 2002 

Microsoft Corp. may delay some products, including its next version of
Windows for server computers, to improve security, Vice President
Cliff Reeves said Monday.

About 7,000 engineers in the Windows operating system, word-processing
and e-mail product groups are in security training, Reeves said.

That, and the need to fix any security flaws that are found, may
result in delays. Chairman Bill Gates last week sent an e-mail to
employees saying Microsoft must make security a higher priority than
new features.

Microsoft is trying to take customers from rivals such as Sun
Microsystems Inc. with its Windows server software and must improve
security to do that.

Delays can hurt sales of the server products the company is relying on
to fuel growth.

"Undoubtedly this will cause delays in products, but we would hardly
be credible if we didn't do this," Reeves said.

"Once you decide to do this, it takes priority over everything else,"  
he said.

Security improvements at Microsoft are designed to make sure programs
don't go on sale with flaws that can let a hacker take over computers
and gain access to files.

In the last year, thousands of servers running Microsoft software were
infected with the Code Red worm, and the new Windows XP program for
personal computers was susceptible to hackers.

Microsoft hasn't disclosed a release date for the next version of the
Windows server software for running Web sites and corporate networks.

Windows .Net Server will go on sale in the middle of the year, the
company said.

Reeves, a vice president in the Windows .Net group, said the software
probably will be available by the end of September.

Training for Microsoft engineers is expected to be complete by the end
of the month, Reeves said.



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