Microsoft in about-turn on hackers
Microsoft has stepped into the lion's den and revealed some the work that's been done on Internet Explorer 7 to a group of hackers.
The company showed the beta at the Hack in the Box Security Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and was pleased with the result. "It's the first time we've ever come out ahead of a product release to present and get feedback," said Tony Chor, group program manager at Microsoft's Internet Explorer team.
Chor, and colleague Andrew Cushman, director of Microsoft's security engineering and communication group, spoke highly of the feedback they heard at the presentation, and preferred the term "security research community" for attendees, instead of "hacker."
"Hacker has a negative connotation, like a criminal," said Cushman. People such as attendees of the Hack in the Box conference approach security from a very different, very valuable perspective, he added.
"This community is a good source of information and we haven't availed ourselves of that source," said Cushman.
Chor went a step further, saying Microsoft has maintained an "adversarial" relationship with the hacking community in the past, but "that wasn't working. It just made them mad and we didn't benefit from their passion and expertise."
