MS Chief Security Officer to work for White House

NerveGas writes "An Interesting People message reports that Howard Schmidt, Microsoft's Chief Security Advisor, will be leaving MS to work as a security adviser for the White House. With the track record that Microsoft has in the area of computer security, this strikes me as a very bad move." CD: you'd think people would examine the job someone did at thier previous job before offering them a new one. Isn't this is like putting Capt. Hazelwood in charge of an oil tanker?

Job qualifications

[shlong]

you'd think people would examine the job someone did at thier previous job before offering them a new one.

What you mean like the job GW did in Texas? This guy should fit right in.

Oh Great

[Anonymous Coward]

"Howard Schmidt, Microsoft's Chief Security Advisor"

oxymoron?

we're in trouble if he's helping at the while house.

Who better to help you implement Magic Lantern

[Chuck Chunder]

than one of the people involved in allowing the very exploits you want to exploit to exist in the first place?

;)

Re:Job qualifications

[Anonymous Coward]

In that case, he should be the right man for the job. Sure wouldn't want Al Gore handling this crisis..."We mourn for the potted ferns lost in the terrible attacks by humans on Sept 11..." Sheesh...

Lookout for the helicopters at DEF CON 10

[mlafranc]

Honest George! It's ALL their fault!

I can just see it happening.

MS Security Guy probably didn't write code...

[abh]

I know how we all love to flame Microsoft, but if the guy was the head of MS Security, odds are he was an executive who never wrote a line of code.

He's guaranteed not to have anything to do with holes in MS products.

A better thing to look at would be how often was Microsoft's network hacked.

Reminds me of star trek TNG.

[nuintari]

No one would think a kligon would make a good ship's counseler, and I don't think that an android would make a very good captain.

Checking on someone's previous work.

[Chuck Chunder]

CD: you'd think people would examine the job someone did at thier previous job before offering them a new one.

<cheap shot> Yeah, you might [google.com].</cheap shot>

Not really.

[ChrisBennett]

Isn't this is like putting Capt. Hazelwood in charge of an oil tanker?

Actually, no. Captain Hazelwood was drunk at the wheel before the accident. Apparently he was a fine captain when sober. Microsoft has bad security whether or not you consider them to be drunk.

Re:Job qualifications

[Anonymous Coward]

In that case, he should be the right man for the job. Sure wouldn't want Al Gore handling this crisis..."We mourn for the potted ferns lost in the terrible attacks by humans on Sept 11..." Sheesh...

Yeah. Wanting to get us off oil so we wouldn't have to be in Saudi Arabia in the first place is another kooky left-wing socialist tree-hugging conspiracy, right? Here, I'll speak to you in language you can understand: You have misoverestimated your ability to remove your head from your Clymer.

BTW, it was humans who attacked us, you idiot, not space aliens or hobgoblins or beavers or monkeys with four asses or pixies or santa claus(TM) or the tooth fairy or jesus or allah or the easter bunny. Sheesh? Go fuck yourself.

So does this mean ...

[jstockdale]

that we won't have to go on tours to see the whitehouse anymore?

tourist> yay ... the backdoor's open
tourist> common guys lets go

security officer> um sir please don't tell too many people about this ... it is a secure facility

tourist> er ... ok
*walks inside*

it seems to me

[fyonn]

that he's not so much leaving microsoft as merely changing departments. it's all the same company isn't it?

dave

Re:DEF CON 10?

[mlafranc]

From DEFCON.org [defcon.org]

DEF CON 10 will be August 2nd-4th, 2002 in Las Vegas. More details soon.

Not quite

[JediTrainer]

More like:

"Howard Schmidt, Microsoft's Chief Security Advisor"

Sure, he gives advise. But nowhere did it say that they actually listen.