Yet another reason why infrastructure should be as open as possible,
eWeek goes over last week’s Microsoft’s testimony where Microsoft VP Jim Allchin tried to explain to the court that
Microsoft should be allowed to keep certain APIs secret because they are
so vulnerable that disclosing them would constitute a threat to National
Security, incluiding issues in its digital rights management systems,
and an enterprise system called Message Queueing. To quote from the
article:
When pressed for further details, Allchin said he did not want to offer
specifics because Microsoft is trying to work on its reputation
regarding security. “The fact that I even mentioned the Message Queuing
thing bothers me,” he said.
The mind boggles. So Microsoft’s screw-up will be an acceptable defense
to keep its protocols secret? Wow. If this isn’t one of the mist
Alice-in-wonderland turns in recent memory, I can’t think of many better
ones. Perhaps it would only be stranger if the judge actually bought
the argument, I suppose.
It’s as if asprin could actually be turned into poison if it was taken
while a particular high-pitched tone was sounded, but the asprin
manufacturers used the fact that asprin is a part of the Army’s standard
medical kit, and that if they had to disclose the frequency of the
sound, it would put our military at risk. Rather than just FIXING THE
PROBLEM, of course.
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