Allchin stands up for Windows security
May 8th, 2002 by Larry Burton
I keep trying to point out to the people that I train that if I can figure it out it ought to be a piece of cake for someone else to do the same. Evidently Microsoft’s Jim Allchin doesn’t see it that way. Hiding things from view is only effective with personal items like cryptography keys and passwords and even with some of those it isn’t fully effective. Allchin seems to believe that:
Too much disclosure also would lead to more digital piracy, Allchin testified. He noted that product activation, a feature introduced with Windows XP, essentially locks the software to a specific hardware configuration.
“Web systems such as BearShare and Morpheus enable users to exchange songs, music videos and other digital content over the Internet without necessarily paying any royalties,” Allchin testified. “Owners of such digital content are…affected by the strength of the safeguards that…Windows can provide to prevent misappropriation of such content.”
I don’t believe that full disclosure of the API of a truely secure system will in any way compromise the security of that system. If it will the system is placing entirley too much emphasis on the lack of technical acumen in its advisary. If MS can figure it out, so can someone else.
Email This Post
