Report says Windows dominance puts US, firms at risk

A report from the Computer & Communications Industry Association asserts that companies and the US government’s Homeland Security department are at risk because they rely so exclusively on Windows solutions. Because the federal government is so reliant on Microsoft Windows, the report stated, the rising number of flaws in Windows represents an increasing national security risk.

“Just as farmers diversify their crops or investors diversify their stocks to mitigate risk, so too should the federal government diversify the software it uses,” the report suggested. Dan Geer, CTO of @Stake, a security consulting firm, said in the report that Windows-only installations mean that security deteriorates. “This deterioration of security compounds when nearly all computers rely on a single operating system subject to the same vulnerabilities the world over,” he said. HP 3000 customers who are considering a migration to Windows can read the report online at www.ccianet.org/papers/cyberinsecurity.pdf.

In the week following the report, Geer was fired by @Stake, a company whose client list includes Microsoft. Published reports said the @Stake CEO found Geer’s comments in the report disrespectful. Geer said he was hired to do analysis, and noted that “we can’t clear everything with marketing.”