Re: Releasing patches is bad for security

[Joe Miller <joseph-p-miller () cox net>]

I would hope MS has hundreds of the brightest software engineers specifically focused on finding security flaws in all 
of their software.  They should also hire third party security engineers to do the same until all security holes are 
discovered, code rewrites planned, designed and deployed before the company chokes to death on it's own mistakes. They 
certainly have enough liquid assets to do so.
They also have enough cash to then hire the brightest security and software engineers to develop OS's and Applications 
while incorporating security specs, reasonable care and due diligence. Developing the security controls with the OS and 
applications is the only way Microsoft will survive as a software company of the future.

============================================================
From: Chris Brenton <cbrenton () chrisbrenton org>
Date: 2004/02/26 Thu PM 01:31:03 EST
To: incidents () securityfocus com
Subject: Releasing patches is bad for security

Greets all,

This is just such a hoot I had to share:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3485972.stm

The story quotes David Aucsmith, who is in charge of technology at
Microsoft's security business and technology unit as stating:

"We have never had vulnerabilities exploited before the patch was
known,"

The story then goes on to talk about how vulnerabilities are always
reverse engineered from patches. It really sounds to me like he's saying
that patches are *the* problem and if only Microsoft would stop
releasing patches, then all the security issues would just go away.

Microsoft has already dropped down to a monthly patch system. Even then
they have already been skipping months. Could this be early PR spin to
justify not releasing security patches? 

C



---------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

============================================================



---------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------