SAN FRANCISCO, April 10, 2001 — David Thompson, vice president for the Windows® Product Server Group at Microsoft Corp., today delivered a keynote speech at the 10th annual RSA Conference at The Moscone Center in San Francisco, describing the progress the company has made in security leadership over the past year and what Microsoft customers can expect next.
Thompson announced several new security features for the Windows family of products that will be rolled out next year and detailed how Microsoft has delivered on the promises made to customers in last year’s RSA Conference keynote. Thompson highlighted the Microsoft® Windows 2000 operating system, an improved security response process, the company’s Safe Internet consumer security and privacy Web site, and the SafeNet 2000 security and privacy summit as security milestones for Microsoft over the past year. He also announced that Microsoft would host the 2001 security and privacy summit this fall.
“In an increasingly interconnected world, Microsoft is delivering the products, technologies and services that empower safe, secure and trustworthy computing for customers,”
Thompson said.
“Today’s announcements illustrate Microsoft’s continuing commitment to keeping our customers’ information safe and secure.”
The War on Hostile Code
Thompson characterized the upcoming releases of new security features in products across the Windows family — including Windows XP and the next version of the Windows Server product, code-named
“Whistler”
— as part of the company’s
“declaration of war on hostile code.” He noted that over the past year the threat from hostile code, highlighted by an assortment of recent high-profile computer viruses, is of increasing concern to customers. He pointed to current product features such as the Outlook® E-mail Security Update, launched last July, as one example of steps Microsoft is taking to address this problem.
Thompson also announced that the next versions of the Windows operating system, Windows XP and
“Whistler Server,”
would include a new security feature, Software Restriction Policies. This feature, designed to track and stop hostile code like the I LoveYou and Anna Kournikova viruses while allowing administrator-approved mobile code to run, will place restrictions on where and how programs can run on a user’s computer.
Secure Windows Initiative
In his keynote address, Thompson gave an overview of the Secure Windows Initiative, a key part of Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to building more secure software and just one way the company is continuing to improve the security of its software. The Secure Windows Initiative is focused on providing Microsoft engineers companywide with ongoing education, tools that improve over time, security-focused development processes, and the rigorous internal and external testing needed to deliver the high-quality, secure software that customers demand.
Security Leadership: Promises Made, Promises Kept
Building on last year’s RSA Conference keynote address, Thompson pointed to Microsoft’s security vision and the promises made and kept by Microsoft last year. At last year’s conference, he noted, Microsoft outlined a security vision and commitment to delivering secure products, customer service and industry leadership on all fronts. Thompson singled out Windows 2000, the most secure operating system Microsoft has ever shipped, as the first step in a year of security milestones for Microsoft. Other milestones included launching Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2000, expanding security and privacy resources for consumers and expanding the industry-leading Microsoft Security Response Center. Thompson also announced that Microsoft would continue to lead the security charge and build on the success of SafeNet 2000 by hosting the second annual security and privacy summit this year at the company’s Silicon Valley campus.
The RSA Conference, which is expected to attract more than 10,000 attendees this year, is the industry’s premier data security and cryptography event. This year’s event, described as the largest network security exposition in history, includes keynote addresses and technical sessions covering a range of issues, from the latest in cutting-edge cryptographic research to the most current implementations of enterprise security and secure electronic commerce.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
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