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No issue is currently of greater importance to Microsoft and our
industry than trustworthy computing. Amid increasingly frequent and
sophisticated network attacks, users expect their systems to remain
resilient and available. They expect data to remain intact and
confidential at all times. As they increasingly use computers to manage
information important to their everyday lives they expect and demand
control over access to and use of their personal information.
Ultimately, it is essential that computers perform as expected and that
users enjoy a consistently trouble-free computing experience.
These are large goals, not only for Microsoft but also for the
industry as a whole. It would be very reassuring to all if there were a
single step or strategy that could achieve these goals. But in reality,
trustworthy computing is complex. Changes in the way software is
designed, built, and tested are critical. We must better understand the
types of failures and threats to which any particular piece of software
is vulnerable. We must better anticipate the habits and inclinations of
different types of users and make the right assumptions about their
desire and ability to adjust or maintain the configuration of their
systems. And we must effectively train designers and developers of
software to focus on trustworthiness and to have the essential knowledge
to build consistently trustworthy software.
Computer security and cryptography have been subjects of valuable
academic research for some time. But this is only a part of the larger
set of issues that define trustworthy computing, and even computer
security often receives only very limited treatment in computing
curriculum. Academic research has made valuable contributions to
Microsoft through Microsoft Research's Trustworthy Computing Advisory
Board. Now, there is an urgent need to raise awareness of the full range
of trustworthy computing issues in academia and begin to develop the
kind of innovative approach and materials that can place trustworthiness
at the center of the computing curriculum.
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