Bugtraq: Class-action suit points to Microsoft security flaws

["Richard M. Smith" <rms () computerbytesman com>]

Class-action suit points to Microsoft security flaws
http://news.com.com/2100-1009-5085730.html 

Microsoft faces a proposed class-action lawsuit in California based on the claim that its software's market dominance 
and
vulnerability to viruses could lead to "massive, cascading failures" in global computer networks. 

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, also claims that Microsoft's security warnings are too 
complex to be
understood by the general public and serve instead to tip off "fast-moving" hackers on how to exploit flaws in its 
operating system.


The suit claims unfair competition and the violation of two California consumer rights laws, one of which is intended 
to protect the
privacy of personal information in computer databases. It asks for unspecified damages and legal costs, as well as an 
injunction
against Microsoft barring it from unfair business practices. 

Many of the arguments in the lawsuit and some of its language echoed a report issued by computer security experts in 
late September,
which warned that the all-but-total reach of Microsoft's software on desktops worldwide had made computer networks a 
national
security risk. 

...

"Microsoft's eclipsing dominance in desktop software has created a global security risk," the lawsuit said. "As a 
result of
Microsoft's concerted effort to strengthen and expand its monopolies by tightly integrating applications with its 
operating
system.the world's computer networks are now susceptible to massive, cascading failure." 

With some $49 billion in cash and more than 90 percent of the market in PC operating systems, Microsoft has long been 
seen as a
potential target for massive liability lawsuits. 

...