Microsoft Securing For IT Future

Microsoft announced plans for securing their IT future today in Munich and discussed their Microsoft Client Protection for guarding enterprise desktops. They also unleashed the SecureIT Alliance. The consortium is dedicated to protecting all customers from the evils that Internet hackers do.

Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft and Mike Nash, corporate vice president of the Microsoft Security Business & Technology Unit, showed off some of the new offerings when they spoke today in Munich.

“Customers are telling us what our research shows: the nature and complexity of online threats and attacks are continuing to evolve, and hackers, thieves and pirates are getting more sophisticated,” Nash said.

“At Microsoft, we believe customers have the right to know what software is running on their machine, how it got there, its purpose and how to remove it if necessary. To help our customers combat the evolving threats and to have those rights protected, we are taking a holistic approach to security that includes developing new technology, partnering with the industry, and keeping customers as educated as possible about how to stay ahead of the latest threats facing them.”

The Client Protection program is aimed to protect all aspects of computers in a business environment. To this end, they’ve put together their Antigen antivirus program and other features as part of a subscription service.

Much of this security push is built around their recent acquisition of Sybari Software and other security companies to add protection to Microsoft platforms. They will also offer a personal PC version to in the form of Windows OneCare.

Nash had a statement on the Microsoft website about the new products: Malicious software developers are becoming more aggressive and customers need a robust solution to manage emerging threats. There’s been a change in motivation among hackers — we’re now are seeing more specific criminal behavior that is costing enterprise customers millions of dollars, both in expense and in lost revenue.

We have heard from business customers that they want protection from viruses, spyware and other malware threats with a single solution. Microsoft Client Protection addresses this need with one solution for desktops, laptops and file servers that combines proven protection technology with integrated management and reporting capabilities. It also enables IT departments to maximize the value of infrastructure that is already in use.

Also in the chute for Microsoft was their announcement of the SecureIT Alliance. It’s part of a continuing push by Microsoft to create a more secure environment for Internet users.

At the time of the announcement of the SecureIT Alliance, founding members include: Altiris Inc., Aventail Corp., BindView Corp., Centrify Corp., Citrix Systems Inc., Computer Associates International Inc., Configuresoft Inc., e-Security Inc., F5 Networks Inc., Forum Systems Inc., F-Secure Corp., FullArmor Corp., LANDesk Software Ltd., McAfee, Inc., Microsoft Corp., Net Report, NetIQ Corp., Network Intelligence Corp., Panda Software, Ping Identity Corp., Quest Software Inc., RSA Security Inc., Symantec Corp., Trend Micro Inc., Utimaco Safeware AG, VeriSign Inc., Voltage Security Inc., Vormetric Inc. and Websense Inc.

This is a pretty healthy list of companies and more will probably join in the future. While a number similar groups exist in private, governmental or combination of the two, this looks to be one of the largest such organizations.

“Our top priority is the protection of our enterprise customers data on mobile devices and in networks. The close cooperation with our industry partners in the new SecureIT Alliance is an important step to further optimize the integration of our solutions with the Microsoft platform. This enables our customers to take advantage of mobilizing their business processes and of mobile computing without the involved risks.”

--- Ralf Engers, vice president, device security, Utimaco Safeware AG

Microsoft has developed a reputation as being fairly week on a number of security issues over the years. They had to do some major work to clean up XP in the last couple of years, even to the point of delaying the initial release of Windows: Vista. This should go a long way toward helping their image in the tech community in improving their security.