Microsoft's Antivirus Move Rattles Security Industry

In announcing its acquisition plan Tuesday, Microsoft said it will develop new antivirus solutions, use GeCAD's technology to boost security of the Windows platform, and extend support for third-party antivirus products.

"Viruses are evolving. The malicious code problem isn't solved," said Amy Carroll, group product manager at the Microsoft Security Business Unit. "We need to do more to help Microsoft and the industry come up with solutions to meet those evolving threats."

Acquiring GeCAD's technology will help Microsoft evolve its platform for antivirus solutions and to build a Microsoft antivirus solution that will be fee-based, she said.

"Our goal is to have an antivirus solution that is an add-on of some sort, but how that will be productized is not final," Carroll said.

An antivirus solution consists of an engine and regular signature updates, she said. "How we deliver the engine we don't know. The delivery of the updates or signatures will be fee based."

Without the acquisition finalized, it's premature to offer a timeline for the solution, she said.

With Microsoft poised to provide antivirus protection, antivirus vendors should throw in the towel, said Gregory Stenstrom, CEO, Stenstrom Scientific, a security solution provider based in Sewell, N.J.

"If I were them, I'd get into another business," he said, adding that Microsoft crushed Netscape when it got into the browser business.

"You get a company like Microsoft [in antivirus] and it'll put Trend Micro's and Symantec's lights out," he said.

For Microsoft, the acquisition makes a lot of sense, he said. GeCAD is a viable company with an established product that's popular in Europe and Asia, he said. Plus, it works with Linux and Samba, he added.

Microsoft "had to do something to protect their code and they really did," he said, adding, "It takes a tool out of my tool bag as a reseller, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. A year from now there will be something that takes the place of antivirus."

Antivirus vendors offered cautiously optimistic responses to Microsoft's announcement.

"While we still need to understand the full implications for this announcement, we applaud Microsoft's efforts to develop an operating system upon which antivirus vendors can build more effective protection," Symantec said in a statement issued Tuesday.

Trend Micro said Microsoft's announcement--together with the formation of the Virus Information Alliance--illustrates Microsoft's commitment to security. Microsoft founded the alliance last month with third-party antivirus vendors, including Trend Micro.

While Sophos applauded Microsoft's commitment to the antivirus market, it said the acquisition raises some questions.

"Providing a viable antivirus solution to the market requires far more resources and commitment than most people realize," Chris Belthoff, senior security analyst at Sophos said in a prepared statement.

He added that he wonders what will happen to GeCAD's customers, particularly ones using the company's antivirus products for competing operating systems such as Linux. "Will Microsoft continue to support them as well?" he said.