Black Hatters Get Nod from Microsoft
The Black Hat conference includes an eclectic group of weirdos, geeks, security crusaders and a healthy dose of posers. While it used to have a slight aura of evil, now the conference attracts major vendors seeking major security solutions. This week, Microsoft made an appearance and pledged its undying cooperation with friends and foes alike.
Critics may argue that Microsoft still doesn't build the world's greatest software, but you can't really fault the company for trying to fix what's broke. New initiatives include giving customers monthly reports going over general security issues. Redmond is also offering frameworks to help IT structure its response to problems and patch releases.
Finally, Microsoft has Project Quant (the name of which either refers to quantitative analysis or the obscure Dutch flautist), an "open community project" to improve patching.
Posted by Doug Barney on July 29, 2009