March 24, 2008
Microsoft Acquires Komoku
Microsoft has added the anti-rootkit security vendor to its portfolio.
Microsoft has purchased Komoku, a maker of anti-rootkit technology whose customers include the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. Microsoft did not disclose the dollar amount of the deal, but has said it will incorporate Komoku's technology into its Forefront enterprise security product and its Windows Live OneCare product.
Rootkits, which are designed to gain administrator access to a computer and bypass all installed security software, gained public notoriety in 2005 when Sony BMG included a rootkit on some of its music CDs in an effort to control unauthorized copying. The public outcry eventually caused Sony to apologize, and remove the rootkits from its products.
