Microsoft Sees Growth in Threats to Security

Microsoft [reports that] the security of its Windows operating system had significantly improved, while at the same time the threat of computer viruses, scams and other online scourges had become much more serious.

The company blames organized crime, naive users and its competitors for the deteriorating situation.

In the latest edition of its twice-yearly "Security Intelligence Report," Microsoft says that the amount of malicious or potentially harmful software removed from Windows computers had grown by 43 percent during the first half of 2008.

The company said improvements in security that had come with its Windows Vista operating system and with security updates to the previous Windows XP system had made the software a less attractive target for attackers. Instead, attackers have shifted their attention to security holes in individual programs.

During the first half of the year, 90 percent of newly reported vulnerabilities involved applications and 10 percent affected operating systems, according to the report.

Microsoft executives said that they were pleased with the progress made since the company was shaken by a series of destructive programs that spread rapidly around the world via the Internet, beginning in 2003. But they said that unless software development practices changed throughout the industry, any improvements in the security of Windows would be meaningless.

"This story is real," said George Stathakopoulos, general manager for Microsoft's Security Engineering and Communications group, referring to the improvement in the company's engineering practices. "Now we have a third-party problem, and it's something we have to go solve."