Microsoft developers sent to security boot camp

Microsoft is sending all its 20,000 Windows developers through a compulsory training day as the company strives to improve its record on security.

A source at Microsoft's Redmond headquarters told silicon.com that the company's chiefs are keen to improve the security skills of its developers.

A statement from Microsoft confirmed the company was putting its developers through the training.

It said: "Security is a complex industry issue. It is certainly a priority for Microsoft and its clients. We have an organisation of approximately 20,000 developers and we provide the appropriate training and development to ensure that security is a priority for each of them and that they have the necessary tools."

"Sometimes these initiatives are very broad and sometimes they are very focused on specific parts of the team," it added.

The move highlights how security has risen to the absolute pinnacle of Microsoft's corporate agenda, but it also indicates that the company is beginning to realise that it has not taken the issue seriously enough in the past.

Microsoft software is so widely used that it is the top target for hackers and cyber-criminals of every stripe.

The company's .NET strategy to deploy applications on the web has also made its applications more vulnerable.

Several key parts of .NET, such as Universal Plug and Play, Instant Messenger and the Passport single sign-on system, have fallen victim to high-profile security flaws recently.

The problem is likely to get worse, as Microsoft increasingly develops products that rely on wireless networking standards such as the notoriously insecure 802.11b.