Microsoft's Brandon Leblanc defends Windows security despite reports from Google employees.
Although Microsoft VP of corporate communications Frank X. Shaw already had his moment in the spotlight with Google-related comments on Twitter, Windows communications manager Brandon LeBlanc came out and updated his Windows corporate blog with his view--a retaliation of sorts--over Windows, security, and the comments made from the Google employee(s). LeBlanc builds his defense and covers all the basis, spanning from Yale's decision to delay its move Gmail to the high-risk malware attacks on Apple Macs.
"When it comes to security, even hackers admit we’re doing a better job making our products more secure than anyone else," he said, referring to Marc Maiffret, chief security architect at FireEye (Pwn2Own hacking winner says otherwise). "And it’s not just the hackers; third party influentials and industry leaders like Cisco tell us regularly that our focus and investment continues to surpass others."
Naturally he debunks any claim that Windows is in the same state it was ten years ago, listing many Windows 7 features such as Parental Controls (which you actually have to download separately from the initial installation), improvements to BitLocker for disc encryption, and the SmartScreen Filter embedded in Internet Explorer 8. However LeBlanc took a beating in the comments section which led to a few revisions to his original post.
"We are not where we were 10 years ago," he said in response to criticism over security. "What's really changed in the last 10 years is Microsoft has invested quite a bit on less "buzz features" and more on security. If you recall back with Windows XP SP2--we stopped everything to focus on security in Windows. And then Windows Vista introduced UAC which we streamlined for Windows 7. UAC is certainly not a "buzz feature"--nor is ASLR. Or SmartScreen Filter. We've done a lot in the last 10 years to make sure Windows users are more protected than ever before from attacks."
So what's the big picture here? Are Macs just a vulnerable and Windows machines? Are we hearing more stories about Windows-based security issues because it's fun?
As stated Monday, Google could very well be ditching Windows over said security issues. Google could also be gearing up to be totally in-house with a stable release of Chrome OS. The heart of the issue seems to be that most employees don't know the entire corporate scope, and simply enjoy ruffling a few Microsoft fathers.
