Microsoft EU Case Close Marks New Beginning

You may have heard that the European Commission accepted Microsoft commitments to give users a browser choice.

While this is fantastic news for the masses, a small paragraph was included in Microsoft’s “Interoperability Undertaking” that will bring holiday cheer to the security-minded:

(42) Microsoft shall ensure on an ongoing basis and in a Timely Manner that the APIs in the Windows Client PC Operating System and the Windows Server Operating System that are called on by Microsoft Security Software Products are documented and available for use by third-party security software products that run on the Windows Client PC Operating System and/or the Windows Server Operating System. These APIs will be documented on the Microsoft Developer Network, unless open publication would create security risks. In such circumstances, Microsoft will provide third-party security vendors with access to such APIs pursuant to a royalty-free license and on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.

Let’s break this down. Microsoft is committing to providing “timely” APIs for both Windows client and server operating systems “that are called on” by Microsoft’s own security products. The key points are “timely” access to APIs that may not have been documented in the past but used by Microsoft in their own security product. While I applaud Microsoft for incorporating an element that deals with security in this settlement, one has to wonder what APIs are out there that the other security vendors don’t know about. As a security vendor, I firmly believe it is in the best interest of all our customers to provide the best security possible, and getting access to all the relevant APIs is a step in the right direction. I sure hope that “timely” access is not measured in years.

I personally look forward to working with Microsoft on operationalizing the above paragraph. In the end, the browser boys got a win and so have the security geeks. So for me, this isn’t case closed, but rather the beginning of the next chapter in helping to protect our collective customers.

Tags: Consumer, Cybercrime, Microsoft