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AnchorDesk Staff
What Microsoft (and Oracle) Are Scared Of

AnchorDesk Staff
ZDNet AnchorDesk
Wednesday, January 17, 2001
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I don't like rules. So it's fitting that today I'm predicting one of my own will be broken.

It's the Jesse Berst rule that industry consortiums stink. Such consortia usually have laudable goals and the technical expertise to accomplish something. But infighting and greedy private agendas always delay or completely derail progress. Consider Web phones. Or Bluetooth.

But I predict bitter rivals Microsoft and Oracle (of all companies!) will be an exception to my rule when it comes to fighting cyber threats. And they should when a group of teens can allegedly plot to take down the whole Web. And when viruses and hackers cost businesses an estimated $1.5 trillion last year.

So Microsoft, Oracle and 17 other tech firms, are teaming up to fight cyber hazards. I'll tell you what they're trying to do, and why they may even succeed.

ANTI-HACKING INC.
Here's the anatomy of what may become the most successful anti-hacking tool to date:

What: The Information Technology Information Sharing and Analysis Center (IT-ISAC) will be based at the Atlanta offices of Internet Security Systems. The IT-ISAC will allow industry and the government to do two key things to secure these companies software and hardware products:
  • Share the most up-to-date security measures
  • Warn each other about real and potential security threats

Who: I've listed some of the founders below. But if this group follows the lead of some other security-based industry consortia, then we may not even know who all the members are.
  • Microsoft
  • Oracle
  • Cisco
  • IBM
  • Hewlett-Packard
  • Computer Associates International
  • Electronic Data Systems
  • Intel
  • Nortel Networks

BEHIND THE SCENES
Microsoft and Oracle have been on committees and groups together before. When developing standards, they've generally failed. But when they've needed to work together on customer service issues, they've been more successful.

This new association will be an example of the latter, but it won't be the strongest of bonds. That's because there are competing forces working on IT-ISAC. Common interest is the glue that will hold the group together while real-world market rivalries will work to pull it apart.

Common Interest. Competitors in the banking, telephone and electrical industries have already found common ground. So it can be done. If the goliaths of the industry decide to opt out, IT-ISAC will remain and the big boys will be effectively cut out of the information loop, an untenable situation.

Real-world rivalries. The real challenge will be to get rivals to share what they know without worrying that they're disclosing valuable information their competitors will use against them. This will be a critical protocol for the IT-SAC governing body to work out.

In the end, when these companies learn to trust each other, we'll all be better off because -- with the exception of Microsoft -- most of these companies do things that most Web surfers don't see. They're mostly behind-the-scenes players. But we rely on their health and security nevertheless to guard our personal information and let us surf and conduct business securely over the Internet.

Does IT-ISAC have a chance, or is it a good idea before its time? Hit the TalkBack button and let me know. And then tell me what other Berst rules we should be breaking, like my prohibition of industry buzz words.

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