News
Fired Security Researcher Resurfaces
Security expert fired over controversial report that accused Microsoft of contributing to global insecurity now at Verdasys.
- By Keith Ward
- March 25, 2004
A security expert fired over a controversial report that accused Microsoft
of contributing to global insecurity by virtue of its near-monopoly on
desktop operating systems has found a job with a relative newcomer to
the security field.
Dan Geer, formerly CTO of @stake, has caught on with Verdasys, which
makes a product called Digital Guardian. Digital Guardian is a system
that monitors and audits users, displaying warnings and eventually denying
resource access if users violate administrator-proscribed rules.
Geer became something of a hero in the security community following his
firing, which came the same day that he and a number of other security
experts released the report, which called the ubiquity of Windows on the
desktop a "monoculture." [See "Report:
Microsoft Monopoly Puts Computing at Risk" in the News archive
or click
here.—Editor] It said that the potential risk of damage
from any vulnerability in Windows was magnified hugely by its pervasiveness.
The report went on to recommend that other OSs be used in the enterprise,
and suggested government intervention in helping reach that goal.
@stake does a significant amount of business with Microsoft, and immediately
wiped any traces of Geer's existence with the company off its Web site.
Geer, Verdasys' vice-president and chief scientist, recently released
a white paper titled, "The
Shrinking Perimeter: Making the Case for Data-Level Risk Management,"
which calls for a re-examination of perimeter defense and its ability
to protect data.
Verdasys has been business since February 2003, according to Nick Stamos,
VP of products and services. To obtain the white paper, click
here.
About the Author
Keith Ward is the editor in chief of Virtualization & Cloud Review. Follow him on Twitter @VirtReviewKeith.