Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Suit Holds Microsoft Responsible for Worm Holes

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 18:21:04 -0400

Suit Holds Microsoft Responsible for Worm Holes

By Jonathan Krim
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 3, 2003; Page E05

Microsoft Corp. is engaging in unfair business practices for its failure to better
secure its software against computer viruses,
worms and other cyberattacks, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles.

The suit, filed late Tuesday in a California court, is on behalf of a single
consumer who claims to be the victim of identity theft as
a result of a hacking incident.

But it is designed to be a class-action case if other consumers with similar
claims step forward, and will be closely watched as a
steep rise in cybercrime raises questions about whether software makers should be
held responsible when their programs are
compromised.

In general, software manufacturers have not been liable for security and other
product failures because users are required to
sign license agreements that insulate the companies from legal responsibility.

But a recent spate of worms and viruses that crippled hundreds of thousands of
computers worldwide has led to a growing
clamor for holding software makers more accountable.

Microsoft's Windows operating system, which powers more than 90 percent of
personal computers, has been a particular
target of hackers. With seeming ease, hackers have stayed one step ahead of the
company in exploiting vulnerabilities in
Windows, e-mail software and other Microsoft programs.

"The vast majority of successful Internet attacks are attributable to major
vulnerabilities in Microsoft's . . . software," the suit
alleges, adding that the company does an inadequate job of warning customers about
the problems and helping to fix them.

The suit takes a different tack from previous efforts to claim damages due to
software flaws. It argues that because consumers
have little choice other than Microsoft software, its failure to provide secure
programs constitutes an unfair business practice
under California law.

"If you live in the modern world, you must use Microsoft," said Dana B. Taschner,
a Newport Beach lawyer who filed the case
on behalf of a Los Angeles woman who is a film editor. "You can't on the other
hand say, 'We're not responsible.' "

Microsoft spokesman Sean Sundwall said the company is still reviewing the suit but
would fight against allowing it to become a
class action. Adding numerous additional plaintiffs -- with the potential of
multiple damages -- is typically the way law firms fund
litigation against large corporations.

"This complaint misses the point," Sundwall said. "The problems caused by viruses
and other security attacks are the result of
criminal acts by the people who write viruses." Still, he said, "Microsoft has
made security a top priority and is committed to
developing the most secure software possible."

The suit echoes a position paper issued last week by a group of computer security
executives who argued that Microsoft's
ubiquity poses a national security risk because one attack can do such widespread
damage.

The authors said that policymakers should consider the current "monoculture" of
software when evaluating ways to improve
computer security.

In addition to compensation for losses, the suit seeks to require Microsoft to
improve security notification.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37244-2003Oct2.html

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