Windows Vista Will Make the Threat Environment Evolve and Adapt

The fact that attackers go where the vulnerabilities are is one of the aspects of how the threat environment evolves and adapts to new security measures. Michael Howard, Microsoft security guru revealed recently that what makes him go on with the security race is the mute confrontation with attackers. With Windows Vista, Microsoft has risen the standard for security; however, once this standard will be taken down another one will have to replace it.

Symantec has evaluated the security capabilities of the latest operating system to exit from Microsoft's laboratories. In this regard, the Cupertino-based security company has concluded that Windows Vista will cause the threat environment to adapt from the grounds up. And while there will still be attacks directed at Windows Vista the threats will gear towards more accessible attack vectors.

"Attackers follow security vulnerabilities, as these are a requirement for their success. Over the past several years, these vulnerabilities have increasingly moved up the application stack and away from the core operating system. Threats have and will continue to move into other areas, such as the Web application layer, where over 78 percent of all new security vulnerabilities reside today. Windows Vista provides no enhanced security in this space, as the majority of vulnerabilities today are seen within PHP, Python, Perl, ASP, and other languages. In addition, new Web 2.0 technologies such as AJAX provide an entirely new layer on which tomorrow's threats will propagate," revealed Symantec.