Despite having frequent Vista quarrels in the past, Symantec and Microsoft join forces to build a forum aimed at promoting security best practice
Announced at the RSA Conference Europe 2007 on Tuesday, Symantec and Microsoft will join the Software Assurance Forum for Excellence in Code (SafeCode), which claims to be a not-for-profit organization aimed at increasing trust around IT. Other members include EMC, SAP and Juniper Networks.
SafeCode is being headed up by cybersecurity expert Paul Kurtz, who was one of the founding members of the Cyber Security Industry Alliance (CSIA) and a former White House National Security Council and Homeland Security Council member under Presidents Bush and Clinton.
"Where are the best practices? Everyone talks about them, but how do you find them? SafeCode is going to bring those best practices into one place so that government, consumers and businesses can make best use of them," said Kurtz.
Commenting on questions about the recent argument between his company and Microsoft over Vista application programming interfaces (APIs), Ilias Chantzos, Symantec's government relations manager for EMEA, said that the two organizations would co-operate in SafeCode in order to benefit customers.
"We have a multi-faced relationship with Microsoft and we are keen to work with them. That will ultimately benefit our customers. I see this relationship as complimentary rather than competitive," Chantzos said.
Last year, security companies, including Symantec and McAfee, complained that Microsoft had locked them out of the Windows kernel. The security vendors claimed that a kernel shield developed by Microsoft, called "PatchGuard" and intended to stop hackers attacking 64-bit versions of Vista, blocked their security products too.
Microsoft eventually agreed to provide security companies with access to the 64-bit APIs but didn't actually provide access until two months after it had officially relented.
Microsoft had long maintained that a complete lock on the kernel would provide the best operating-system security and stability, but it made concessions in response to antitrust concerns raised by officials in Europe and Korea.
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