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Microsoft Giving Russia Access to Code
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Alpha-Omega
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Jul 30, 2003 17:10 PDT
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Microsoft Giving Russia Access to Code
MOSCOW (AP) - Software giant Microsoft is giving the Russian government
access to its secret source code for Windows operating systems as part
of a global effort to improve information security, company officials
said Monday.
``This is a very big step,'' said Olga Dergunova, managing director of
Microsoft's Moscow office. The company will reveal the ``architecture
and principles'' behind Windows, she said, in what analysts say is an
effort to keep governments from switching to cheaper alternatives.
Russia is the first country to sign on to Microsoft's ``Government
Security Program'' - which allows countries to review the secret code
and evaluate the software's ability to withstand attacks.
It also gives countries the technical data they need to latch their own
security technology onto the Windows platform.
Many analysts say the initiative is meant to keep governments around the
world from straying to open-sourced software alternatives, such as
Linux, in which the underlying code can be downloaded for free.
In Russia, Microsoft signed the agreement with the Federal Agency of
Government Communications and Information (FAPSI), a Russian
intelligence and surveillance agency that was once part of the
Soviet-era KGB, and the Atlas Scientific-Technical Center.
By giving the Russian government access to the Windows source code, the
program may also aid the fight against software piracy in Russia, which
is one of the world's biggest producers of counterfeit computer, music
and video products, Dergunova said.
Sales of illegally produced Windows programs and other Microsoft
products in Russia have deprived the company of hundreds of millions of
dollars in potential profits, she said.
01/20/03 10:04
© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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