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Microsoft Defensive Toward IDefense
John Stith
Staff Writer
2006-02-22
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This had to dig in Microsoft's gut just a little bit. Security software company and division of Verisign, iDefense, announced last week they would offer a $10,000 bounty for vulnerabilities Microsoft classifies as "Critical." Perhaps this is a new sort of "viral marketing."
 | | iDefense Stirring Things Up For Microsoft |  |
iDefense likes stirring things up a bit considering this is in addition to the program they started last year called the Vulnerability Contributor Program (VCP). The VCP offered compensation based on a list of criteria and they have hundreds of contributors already. This $10,000 overshadows the new compensation. Keep in mind though, the $10,000 is for a limited time only. This deal expires on March 31st.
The hook for this $10,000 has two basic points. First, the vulnerability must go exclusively to iDefense. No other company can get have their hooks in it. Then, and this is the trickier part, it must be rated as "Critical" by Microsoft in their four step update ranking system.
"Many of our most valuable contributors consistently identify significant vulnerabilities that may never make the front page, but both avert major exploitation and secure considerable compensation through our rewards program," said Michael Sutton, director of iDefense Labs, which manages the worldwide program.
The other detail is while this particular deal ends on March 31st, they will have another $10,000 for each quarter. This will certainly keep their name out in the community. Their new event has yet to be announced. They did say the contest for the next quarter wouldn't target a specific company. It will be more aimed at a type of flaw like browser issues.
The wizards in Redmond couldn't be too pleased with this development. Microsoft has had consistent problems with security issues in Windows for quite a while. While it may force Microsoft to improve their operating system security in the future, it certainly rubs salt in the wounds.
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About the Author:
John is a staff writer for SecurityProNews covering cyber security.
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