back to article Blood-crazed Microsoft axes Trustworthy Computing Group

Microsoft is closing its Trustworthy Computing Group as part of the loss of 2,100 jobs in a restructuring plan unveiled on Thursday. The Trustworthy Computing Group is to be disbanded, with responsibilities for security and privacy programs folded into its Cloud & Enterprise Division, and its Legal & Corporate Affairs group. …

  1. h4rm0ny
    Facepalm

    This is stupid.

    Rationalizing the newly acquired Nokia components makes sense as there's inevitably going to be some overlap. Dismantling actual research units is a terrible mistake. MS need to be focusing on higher quality right now, not cutting costs.

    1. Tom 35

      Re: This is stupid.

      But the only thing that matters now is the stock price. Companies exist to make rich people richer. Staff is something you fire to make the stock go up. Then you acquire something to make the stock go up. Now you can fire more people to make the stock go up. All this products and stuff is just a distraction.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: This is stupid.

      "Dismantling actual research units is a terrible mistake. MS need to be focusing on higher quality right now, not cutting costs."

      Nah - they are just investing in locations with higher quality resources for R&D - like the UK for instance - where they already have a massive R&D spend.

  2. David Austin

    Careful Microsoft

    After the Blaster/Sassar and all the 2002-ish mass virus breakouts, Trustworthy Computing was a bold move headed up by Bill Gates (Remember reading the letter he wrote to announce it with a sigh or relief, after clearing up a bunch of mess those worms caused)

    Yes, it may have partly been PR, but the perception is that it led to Windows XP SP2, which was a leap forward in security, with a built in firewall on by default, Pop up blockers, and extra security in IE6. Other products followed, and while they weren't perfect, the code quality seemed to improve dramatically, along with things like patch Tuesday, and a central area to keep up to date on security.

    So, OK, Microsoft - close the department, but don't you dare stop doing the work and ethos they promoted, or they'll be hell to pay.

  3. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Devil

    WTF am I reading?

    security and privacy programs getting folded into

    1) Cloud & Enterprise Division

    Ahah? Hah!

    2) Legal & Corporate Affairs group

    MUAHAHAHA!

    Tacking to windward no longer? Methinks that ship has get some water in them holds and will soon feel the fury of hackery blunderbusses!!

  4. Wensleydale Cheese
    FAIL

    Regrettable but no surprise. Unfortunately.

    "Caspar Bowden, said Trustworthy Computing was in any case "one-third engineers, two-thirds PRs".

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It's better to have an independent security group

    Although security experts need to work close to engineers, they shouldn't answer to the same management - the risk otherwise is that pressure to get a product delivery will overcome security.

    And independent group not necessarily "patches" only delivered code. If a good process exists, it will mean the independent group will be able to review code and designs, set standards to write it, etc. - but answering to those responsibile for secuirty, not product delivery - thus nobody could be tempted to hide the dust under the carpet...

  6. DJV Silver badge
    Happy

    It was...

    It was probably only ever an empty office with a big sign on the door anyway!

  7. Woza
    Thumb Up

    thumbs up

    For the subheading.

  8. DN4

    Apple & Google competing on privacy & security

    Thank you for the good laugh.

  9. Mark 85

    One-Third Engineers and Two-Thirds PR?

    Now which ones will be booted...hmmm... high dollar engineers or high dollar PR types who have spun their job and resume?

    It just doesn't seem like a good idea to break up a quality control group and mix them into the groups that they were supposed to be riding herd on.

  10. Joe User

    No surprise here

    Most knowledgeable people don't consider Microsoft and its products to be particularly trustworthy or secure....

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    NEGATIVE FUCKS

    Microsoft give actual negative fucks about security and privacy. But go put all your data in their datacenters. Don't think do it. Subscription fees are like liquor made from squeezed virgin! Ambrosia of the gods that removes requirements for caring even a little about your customers! Wheeeeeeee!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: NEGATIVE FUCKS

      Damn....had a few drinks there, have we?

  12. Daniel B.

    Good news

    Windows will lose the little security confidence it gained with the TwC division and more companies will actually switch away from Windows on the Datacenter, or halt any future migrations to Windows.

    Oh, you were expecting good news for Microsoft? Nope, not with this. This news, combined with the killing of Nokia X means that Satya is keeping Ballmer's "strategy": pushing down the yoke for the MS plane to crash in the most spectacular manner!

  13. channel extended

    What is the ratio?

    One third engineeers two thirds flacks? I wonder if this is the same ratio in all MS departments.

    That would expain ME and Vista.

    1. Roland6 Silver badge

      Re: What is the ratio?

      But in the TwC group the flacks probably left the programming to the engineers...

  14. Frank Oz

    Lawyers and enterprise product developers ...

    ... Who else would you want to overseas your products' security.

    One's got you covered in the likely even that your product fails basic security, and you get sued, and the other provides enterprise product that will get you sued ... thus increasing the need for the lawyers.

    As for the rest of the product line-up - hey, don't sweat it. Low end users and customers don't have the legal budgets of enterprise clients.

    ... It all makes a kind of warped sense.

  15. Christian Berger

    I wonder if that housed the evil or the good parts of "Trustworthy Computing"

    I mean Microsoft had multiple approaches. One was the "We only execute signed code" idea which they still try to push through with secure boot. (though you can still turn it off at the moment to avoid potential legal problems)

    The other part was more profound, they started to actually fix bugs in response to Linux. Suddenly a Word file crashing Word was a big issue as it might be used as an exploit.

    1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

      Re: I wonder if that housed the evil or the good parts of "Trustworthy Computing"

      By far the most important result of the TwC initiative was the SDL (Security Development Lifecycle), which doesn't necessarily depend on the existence of the TwC group.

      That said, a critical part of the SDL is independent outside security audits, and with TwC folded into engineering, the independence of those audits is at risk. You do not want the same people responsible for getting a product out the door and vetting it for security problems; that creates a perverse incentive structure.

  16. tempemeaty

    Horizon getting closer?

    Perhaps Microsoft has made enough progress on a new "Cloud OS" that they feel it's time to pull back on support for their original full Windows OS.

  17. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

    Ground up

    Security can be ground up rather patching later practice

    Indeed, it appears that Nadella's strategy consists of grinding up everything at Microsoft.

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