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Microsoft's Ballmer Says Security Is Top Priority

By Daisuke Wakabayashi

TOKYO (Reuters) - Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Monday security is the software giant's top priority as it seeks to allay worries about computer viruses while fending off calls for Asian governments to develop an alternative to its Windows operating system.

"Our number one priority is investing to make our products more secure," Ballmer said in a speech at Tokyo's Waseda University after Microsoft agreed to cooperate in training students there about security for the Windows operating system.

The Microsoft head is on a weeklong tour of Japan in which he will seek to ease concerns about the safety of its products after computer viruses exploited security holes and brought global Internet traffic to a crawl in August and September.

Computer industry associations from Japan, South Korea and China said last Friday they would strongly recommend their governments seek open-source software, such as Linux , as an alternative to Windows.

Microsoft has said open-source software -- which can be copied and modified freely -- does not ensure a safer product.

Critics question the safety of using Microsoft's operating systems for government computers since the firm, based in Redmond, Washington State, does not disclose its source codes, the underlying blueprint for its programs.

Microsoft tried to soothe those concerns by urging Japan to participate in its Government Security Program, which allows governments and international organizations access to source codes and special training for officials.

Japan has not yet agreed to join the program, and then trade minister Takeo Hiranuma said in September it would be useful to seek a new kind of software.

Ballmer, in a lively 45-minute speech to nearly 600 students, faculty members and reporters, said software developers and governments should work together to solve security problems.

"We need to make sure that when there are problems, the damage is small and quickly corrected."

After the speech, a group of students handed him a huge bouquet of flowers, while other students crowded around him seeking autographs or handshakes.

Source: Yahoo News

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