Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing, Security Still Priority 10 Years Later
Panned as a hollow public relations campaign ten years ago, Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing initiative has improved Windows products and introduced new standards for developing secure software.
In 2002 then-CEO Bill Gates wrote a letter to every Microsoft employee stating that product security was a top priority for the software giant. While the fight against attackers is not over, the company has made significant strides in making it harder to compromise the operating system and associated software, according to security experts in and out of Microsoft.
Gates sent the email to all employees on Jan. 15, 2002 outlining the Trustworthy Computing initiative and called on employees to deliver products that were "as available, reliable and secure as standard services such as electricity, water service and telephony." At the time of the email, Windows systems around the world were under siege by fast-replicating and destructive worms and viruses such as CodeRed, Nimda, "I Love You," and "Anna Kournikova." CodeRed used buffer overflows to exploit vulnerabilities in Windows Server's Internet Information Services (IIS) Web server and infected more than 300,000 computers.
