Security firms get early access to Microsoft patches

Microsoft Active Protections Program announced Microsoft plans to give security vendors a head start in what has become a monthly race against the hackers. Starting in October, the company will provide security vendors with early access to technical details of its monthly security patches before the software updates are actually released. This will give the companies that write attack-blocking code a bit of a cushion as they write and test their security software. Microsoft calls this initiative the Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP) and says that participating companies must sell commercial Windows security products and have a large customer base - and no, sellers of attack-based penetration testing tools are not invited. Early participants include IBM, Juniper Networks, and 3Com's Tipping Point division, but other... [read full story]