Symantec has released a new patch for its Norton AntiVirus 2004 PC-scanning software. The patch fixes a bug in the installation/activation process that was disabling the package on a small number of systems.
Activation Software Prevented Antivirus Protection
In October, Symantec acknowledged the product had a bug, the result of Symantec's attempts to reign in pirated copies of its software by using product activation features. Symantec introduced the activation features last August in all its new products. The product activation feature was supposed to work in a similar manner to that used by Microsoft and other companies, requiring the user to key an activation code that was unique to the software's distribution disk. However, some Norton AntiVirus users--less than 1%--experienced a significant problem: The software did not recognize the code that was entered. Thereafter, each time a user rebooted, the software requested that the package be reactivated. Eventually, the software stopped working completely, leaving the system unprotected, offering only this message: "The trial period has expired. This product has been disabled because you have not activated it."
The Real Terrorist Threat: Piracy
The company has said that over three and a half million copies of its software have been pirated and that the activation feature was a response by the company to control this abuse. However, the use of activation software is a reminder that the need for Symantec's antivirus software--and the offerings of other companies as well--is no longer incidental, but a critical part of the IT infrastructure, funneling vast amounts of money into the antivirus security sector of the industry.
The antivirus security market is now estimated to be over $3 billion a year, while the number of threats to PC and other platforms from viruses continues to rise exponentially each month. (The Sobig virus was said to have created an equal amount of damage in its short reign of terror this last fall.) The fact that Symantec and other antivirus software makers are now moving to an activation scenario for its products raises a perplexing question: How seriously can these companies be in their efforts to rid the world of computer viruses and worms if their livelihoods are dependent upon the continued rise in the number of rogue agents? Isn't virus protection something that could be integrated with the operating systems and application programs themselves, or are we--as consumers of software and IT systems--destined to pay "protection money" indefinitely?
Protection Money
This software sector has gained a lot from the medical/scientific analogy of real viruses: Consumers and management alike see the threats to their information systems as an "environmental" issue, instead of an issue related to the quality of the software that they use. The analogy of the virus--a kind of creature that exists in the real world and lives off of its hosts--seems to relinquish vendors of their responsibilities to provide secure systems. Instead of fixing the underlying flaws in the security of the base software, vendors expect us ante up more money for others to patch the holes. But in a medical virus epidemic, the focus is on building the immunity of the entire society--at whatever cost. Evidently, in the software industry, viruses are only as important as the number of licenses that can be sold.
Homeland Security and Cyber Threats
Perhaps this is one reason that Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge warned last week at the first National Cyber Security Summit that the nation's electronic infrastructure presents "an attractive target for terrorists." Though his top cybersecurity adviser Robert Liscouski, assistant secretary for infrastructure protection at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said government regulation is possible if the private sector fails to act to bolster security, it's clear that no effort will ever be made by this administration to seriously challenge the industry to fix the underlying security flaws in their products.
"The private sector owns the problem. [But] there are a lot of people out there who are willing to legislate. If that's what you want, I can promise you that you'll get it." Liscouski softened his statement, however, stating that the Bush administration does not think that better security can be legislated or forced on the private sector by the government.
Not My Problem
I beg your pardon! Why not? Why can't the government establish reasonable and stringent standards for software security and then require vendors to meet those standards? Isn't that one of the functions of government?
If, as Tom Ridge asserts, the number of cyber attacks is continuing to rise, with more than 76,000 occurring in the first six months of this year, then the issue isn't about a business ideology of free enterprise versus government regulation. It's an issue about vulnerabilities. Trying to physically stop the attacks by terrorists is one thing, but correcting the underlying vulnerabilities in a monopoly Windows operating system, TCP/IP, SMTP, and a slew of other technologies is certainly well within the purview of any government's responsibility if the vital infrastructure of a country is at risk.
"We know the enemies of freedom use the same technology that hackers do," Ridge said in his address to the National Cyber Security Summit. "And we know that they are looking to strike in any manner that will cripple our society." But then he added, "The continued success of protecting our cyberspace depends on the investment and commitment of each of you and the businesses you represent."
Translation: Spend more resources on security while we kill the bad guys!
Priorities
Perhaps that's why companies like Microsoft and Symantec have put their priorities in order. They're now making gigantic strides in protecting their intellectual property with anti-pirating activation codes, raising their prices, and consolidating their market share. They know there will be plenty of opportunity to reap the continued benefits of protecting us in the years to come. And to me it seems they want the government to make a good showing as they go after the bad guys: terrorist hackers. But maybe not too good a showing! After all, where would they be if the government kills the goose that lays the golden egg?
Thomas M. Stockwell is Editor in Chief of MC Press.
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