CyberInsecurity: The Cost of Monopoly
The lead author of the controversial report about Microsoft
security risks, "CyberInsecurity: The Cost of Monopoly," found himself
sans job yesterday when his employer, @stake, discovered he promoted
his company credentials when he wrote and publicized the report.
According to @stake, Daniel Greer, the company's former chief
technology officer (CTO), "is no longer associated" with the company;
@stake also noted that "the values and opinions of the report are not
in line with [@stake's] views." Conspiracy theorists will ignore the
fact that both Microsoft and @stake said the software giant had
nothing to do with Greer's firing, but bigger concerns are at stake
than just one man's job. Because Microsoft's largest competitors
sponsored the report, how valuable or accurate the report can
therefore be is unclear. Sponsoring a report that touts the
competitive advantages of your own product is one thing, but pushing
competitors' opinions on governments that are in a position to
dramatically alter the competitive landscape is another thing
entirely. In the meantime, the accusations are going to fly.