Coauthor of security report fired
WinInfo | at | by Mike
The lead author of the controversial report about Microsoft security risks, "CyberInsecurity: The Cost of Monopoly," found himself sans job yesterday when his employer, @stake, discovered he promoted his company credentials when he wrote and publicized the report. According to @stake, Daniel Greer, the company's former chief technology officer (CTO), "is no longer associated" with the company; @stake also noted that "the values and opinions of the report are not in line with [@stake's] views." Conspiracy theorists will ignore the fact that both Microsoft and @stake said the software giant had nothing to do with Greer's firing, but bigger concerns are at stake than just one man's job. Because Microsoft's largest competitors sponsored the report, how valuable or accurate the report can therefore be is unclear. Sponsoring a report that touts the competitive advantages of your own product is one thing, but pushing competitors' opinions on governments that are in a position to dramatically alter the competitive landscape is another thing entirely. In the meantime, the accusations are going to fly.