No software is perfect. This much is known from academia and every-day experience. Yet our industry knows how to design and deploy software so as to minimize security risks. However, when other goals are deemed more important than security, the consequences can be dangerous for software users and society at large.

Microsoft’s efforts to design its software in evermore complex ways so as to illegally shut out efforts by others to interoperate or compete with their products has succeeded. The monopoly product we all now rely on is thus both used by nearly everyone and riddled with flaws. A special burden rests upon Microsoft because of this ubiquity of its product, and we all need to be aware of the dangers that result from reliance upon such a widely used and essential product.

CCIA warned of the security dangers posed by software monopolies during the US antitrust proceeding against Microsoft in the mid and late 1990’s. We later urged the European Union to take measures to avoid a software “monoculture” that each day becomes more susceptible to computer viruses, Trojan Horses and other digital pathogens.

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