Microsoft’s Fathi: So Far, So Good for Vista Security

SAN FRANCISCO— Roughly two months after the initial launch of Windows Vista, Microsoft software development leader Ben Fathi said his company is pleased with the security, performance and feedback it has received regarding its newest operating system.

Seated in a quiet briefing room removed from the pressing mass of humanity coursing through ongoing RSA Conference 2007 being held here Feb. 5-10, Fathi, corporate vice president of development of Microsoft’s Windows Core Operating System Division, appears at ease, and even happy discussing the topic of Vista security.

The executive’s tone is markedly different than only six months ago, when he was fielding questions about potential antitrust action on the part of Microsoft’s largest security partners over their ability to integrate products with the new OS.

Where Microsoft was aggressively playing defense at that time, impressing its willingness to cooperate with partners and assuage their concerns over the implications of Vista’s onboard security features, at the annual security industry confab Fathi seemed relaxed and more confident than ever that his company’s work to better protect its flagship products is being viewed thus far as a success.

In framing Microsoft’s greatest accomplishments in improving Windows security with the introduction of its newest products—which range from building and using the company’s new Software Development Lifecycle code analysis process, to adding anti-malware and encryption features in Vista—Fathi said the most gratifying milestone was getting the product itself out the door, along with the new iteration of its Office productivity suite.

Read the full story on eWEEK.com: Microsoft’s Fathi: So Far, So Good for Vista Security.