In 2006 alone, McAfee has counted over 133 critical and important vulnerabilities spread across Microsoft's products. Without a doubt, Microsoft is at the center stage of the threat environment. So we're focusing of course on providing education and guidance, in addition to tools and technologies, that will help prevent these types of issues. We see social engineering as the online threat that will most likely have the largest impact on users in 2007. According to the 2006 State of the Net study, published by Consumer Reports, phishing scams alone - a major form of social engineering - caused an estimated $630 million in damage for the year, while the economic damage totaled by spyware infections reached $2.6 billion. Social engineering is just one type of attack that has been evolving over the years and encompasses various ways in which criminals trick users into taking actions that reveal or provide access to personal information. In fact, to give an overview of the threat landscape, according to the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) list, the number of vulnerabilities is estimated to have doubled from 2005 to 2006 representing an increase in vulnerability reports across the industry. It's an ever changing landscape, that's certain. I would like to use this opportunity to thank Stephen Toulouse and Margeau Lebeau for their patience and help.Ĭan you give us an oversight of the threat landscape in 2006 in comparison to 2005? What would you say is the backbone of cybercrime in the past year? A large coffee because when I said this is a mile-long interview I was not exaggerating. Just sit comfortably, grab a coffee, a large coffee, and enjoy. The interview also covers Microsoft's relations with its security partners, the main security enhancements in Windows Vista, the principal security threat that users will face in 2007, the first service pack for Vista, and so much more. You will be able to get an overall idea of the threat landscape for 20, along with the measures Microsoft had implemented in order to protect customers. However, this mile-long interview covers a larger scope than Vista. Stephen Toulouse, senior program manager for the Trustworthy Computing Group was kind enough to give Microsoft's perspective on the security of Windows Vista.

Windows vista activation key generator