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Microsoft Slams Apple's Security System

A security program manager at Microsoft Corp. has scolded rival Apple Computer for claiming that its security updates are just as transparent, informative, and detailed as those that come out of the Redmond, Wash. developer every month.

Stephen Toulouse, a program manager for the Microsoft Security Response Center and often the MSRC's spokesman, has used several entries in his personal blog to take Apple to the woodshed.

Although cynics may wonder by what right Microsoft -- which has seen its share of security problems -- can lecture Apple, Toulouse called on the Cupertino, Calif.-based competitor to appoint a head of security and change how it handles vulnerabilities and updates.

"The only way you can tackle security issues is by getting out ahead of them and clearly communicating to your users the threat, and the clear guidance on how to be safe," wrote Toulouse. "The Apple representative [quoted in the BusinessWeek article] pulls the old 'we don't have a security figurehead because...um, we all care about security!' line.

"That's a little like saying the White House shouldn't have a Department of Homeland Security because, DUH, everyone in the government cares about security!"

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