Security supplier @stake has dissociated itself from a report critical of Microsoft's OS dominance, and said that the report's instigator, former @stake chief technical officer Dan Geer has left the company abruptly.
Geer and several other researchers wrote a report which argued that Microsoft's dominance of the desktop and server OS markets posed an inherent danger to security. The report was sponsored by the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA).
"@stake would like to clarify that Dan Geer is no longer associated with the company as of 23 September 2003," @stake said. "The values and opinions of the report are not in line with @stake's views."
Microsoft is a customer of @stake, according to @stake's website. CCIA's members include firms which often compete with Microsoft, such as Sun Microsystems, America Online and Oracle.
@stake did not clarify under what circumstances Geer had left the company, but said that "Although Dr Geer announced that his CCIA-sponsored report entitled, CyberInsecurity: The Cost of Monopoly was an independent research study, participation in and release of the report was not sanctioned by @stake."
David Legard writes for IDG News Service
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