Flow My Thoughts, The IT Professor Said

You Can Trust Us, We're From Microsoft!

http://entmag.com/reports/article.asp?EditorialsID=58

Microsoft's 'trustworthy computing' initiative has been ongoing for two years now; this article attempts to provide a scorecard. Clearly, much has been done; equally clearly, much more remains to be done. The latest worm exploits would seem to indicate the vulnerability of a monoculture, which itself raises an interesting question: suppose the Microsoft monoculture is at fault, what would a cure look like?

Imagine for a moment, a world in which Linux/UNIX, Mac OS X [to the extent that, functioning as a server or a desktop machine, it is different from UNIX], and Windows all had about 1/3 the share of desktops and backdoor infrastructure. This would still provide scope for attacks, but in three areas rather than just one. Co-ordinating such attacks to provide a single exploit as damaging as the current MyDoom could be somewhat more difficult than it is at present. Would the game be worth the candle?

But as this article indicates, Microsoft itself is capable of more radical and effective responses. Will we like these any better when we experience their full impact? Is there a baby in all that bathwater?