Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Chevy Chase & Dan Akroyd Must Be Laughing as Microsoft & Huawei Reprise "Spies Like Us."

My own nod to Chevy Chase's and Dan Akroyd's performances in the movie Spies Like Us bubbled up from a Microsoft speech at the recent RSA conference.

About a week ago, The Register reported Microsoft VP of Trustworthy Computing Scott Charney vehemently told an RSA audience that no-way-no-how has his company put back doors into any of their computer software (see the story here). I've been pretty hard on Huawei over this issue (see my advice to them here), and give Microsoft the same advice: PROVE IT! Offer a $1 million reward to the first person or organization who can show an intentional back door into Microsoft products.

I used the word "intentional" because I don't expect them to pay big bucks for some zero-day exploit that cleverly uses a flaw in the Microsoft architecture. Heck, they'd lose billions on that deal. But if anyone could demonstrate a drop-through/bypass-all-security back door that opens up the world, they'd get the million. One time. The first person to uncover the back door. Publicly administered by a trusted third party, with the exploit issued in a press release worldwide.

Emphatic denials don't cut it any more from Microsoft than then do from Huawei. I recently asked, "Who you gonna' believe, Huawei or your lying eyes?" Honor forces me to ask Microsoft the same question. Until either one of these companies puts money where their PR is, I must again conclude (as I did here), that "Microsoft spies for the U.S. and Huawei spies for China.

VP of Trustworthy Computing? Read Orwell's 1984 Mr. Charney. You might want to rethink your title.

1 comment:

  1. ..... and Dan Akroyd solved a complicated code with the gift of a box of food for children.

    ReplyDelete

Implementation suggestions for THE MORGAN DOCTRINE are most welcome. What are the "Got'chas!"? What questions would some future Cyber Privateering Czar have to answer about this in a Senate confirmation hearing?