Security vendor @stake Inc. has dissociated itself from a report critical of Microsoft Corp.'s OS dominance, and says 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 Sept. 23, 2003," the company said in a statement Thursday. "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 Web site. CCIA's members include firms which often compete with Microsoft, such as Sun Microsystems Inc., America Online Inc., and Oracle Corp.
@stake did not clarify under what circumstances Geer had left the company. @stake said in its statement that "Although Dr. Geer announced that his CCIA-sponsored report titled, CyberInsecurity: The Cost of Monopoly was an independent research study, participation in and release of the report was not sanctioned by @stake."

Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts
A comprehensive security management solution can help you streamline, as well as grow, your current or evolving business. In this way, a strategic security approach can help you increase your competitiveness in these challenging market conditions.
Download now! »Find out how you can effectively collect, normalize and archive enterprise-wide, security-related data that is invaluable for security investigation and compliance reporting.
Download now! »This session focuses on the intersection of role management and identity compliance, and addresses the importance of identity compliance in enterprise governance and the challenges that organizations may face in achieving it.
View now! »