Microsoft's new deal with Uncle Sam

By Declan McCullagh
September 16, 2002, 4:00 AM PT

Full story:
http://news.com.com/2010-1074-957970.html?tag=fd_lede

"One explanation for the draft report's marked silence is that there is an unusually close relationship between Microsoft and the White House. Howard Schmidt, vice chairman of the White House's National Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, once worked at the Air Force and then became Microsoft's chief security officer. Schmidt's group, headed by "cybersecurity czar" Richard Clarke, is responsible for preparing this week's report. Scott Charney, Microsoft's current security officer, is another former federal official.

Clarke's office did not return phone calls on Friday. In response to my phone call, a Microsoft spokeswoman said: "Microsoft senior leadership regularly contributes its expertise to national policymaking on cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection, including the president's anticipated national cybersecurity plan. Microsoft contributed early to the plan's development through the White House's established process for collecting broad industry input." But, Microsoft said, it could not comment on the details of the plan.

A second explanation is raw politics. In the 2002 election cycle, Microsoft has been the largest donor from the computer industry, according to OpenSecrets.org. Redmond has handed $2.5 million to politicians, favoring Republicans by a 2-to-1 ratio. The same pattern arose during the 2000 election, but at $4.7 million, Microsoft's total was even higher."