Symantec CEO Warns of Drop in Internet Use

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1390273,00.asp

November 19, 2003
By Dennis Fisher  

LAS VEGAS - If software vendors and security companies don't get their
act together and start producing better products, users will begin
dropping off the Internet out of sheer frustration, predicted John
Thompson, chairman and CEO of Symantec Corp., in his keynote speech at
Comdex here Wednesday.

Thompson challenged vendors to begin turning out more secure software 
solutions and to take the initiative in trying to protect customers 
from attackers and themselves. If that doesn't come to pass, then 
Internet users—especially less savvy consumers—will reduce the amount 
of time they spend on the Internet and only use it when they 
absolutely need to. 

"There may come a point where users see technology as more of a 
liability than an asset," Thompson said. "They'll just use the Web 
when they have to." 

In a speech that touched lightly on a wide range of topics but didn't 
delve deeply into any, Thompson saved most of his vigor for an attack 
on the way that lawmakers and technology companies are handling the 
spam problem. He was sharply critical of recent anti-spam legislation 
efforts on both the federal and state level and said that government 
regulation is not the right answer to the problem. 

"I predict that the spam legislation will be unmanageable and cause 
confusion among consumers," Thompson said. "Government regulation is 
not the answer. It will stifle innovation. You need to ask yourselves 
why some in our industry would advocate this." 

Thompson expanded on this theme after his speech, saying that spam is 
a unique animal, but one that can be tamed through some fairly simple 
changes in the technology and economics surrounding mass mailing. 
Drawing a parallel between e-mail and postal mail, Thompson said the 
reason that consumers aren't buried under a mountain of junk letters 
is that companies have to pay to send postal mail. He suggested that a 
similar model would help throttle the overwhelming levels of spam 
coursing through the Internet. 

"There is no cost [to send spam]; therefore, people send all kinds of 
junk. Service providers can fix this by changing the economics of the 
situation," he said. "Don't rely on legislative initiatives. A simple 
technology solution solves this problem. You know what's coming 
through your network. If someone is sending 100,000 e-mails, block 
them. I don't understand why you need to appeal to the government." 

Thompson also was dismissive of Computer Associates International 
Inc.'s announcement that it will give users free copies of its 
anti-virus software as part of Microsoft Corp.'s Protect Your PC 
campaign. 

"We've seen desperate acts by desperate people before," Thompson said. 
"If you don't have much of a share, it doesn't hurt you to give it 
away. We don't believe that securing the infrastructure is 
philanthropic. We'd like to get a return. But we're always ready to 
compete." 




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