Posted By: Brad Martin

By ReutersInformationWeekFri Oct 6, 4:25 PM ET

PARIS, Oct 6 - Microsoft's new operating system
Vista will not make it more difficult for anti-virus systems to
work, Russian computer security group and potential IPO
candidate Kaspersky Lab said on Friday, contradicting rivals.

In an open letter this week, U.S. anti-virus provider McAfee
accused Microsoft of weakening users' protection by no longer
co-operating with computer security groups and denying them
access to the core of the Vista system.

"From what we have seen of Vista we cannot tell that
Microsoft is blocking access to the core," Kaspersky Lab Chief
Executive and co-founder Natalya Kaspersky told Reuters in an
interview in Paris.

"It would not make any sense for them (Microsoft) to stop
working with other computer security companies because it would
make their system more vulnerable to attacks," Kaspersky added.

Microsoft, the world's largest software group, entered the
computer security market in June with OneCare, a software that
aims to protect computers from viruses, spyware and other
ailments.

The U.S. software giant fired back on Monday, saying that it
had worked closely with computer security companies throughout
the development of Vista and planned to continue to do so.

"Microsoft would have to change their business completely if
what McAfee says was true," Kaspersky said, explaining that
Microsoft's business model was based on working with other
providers.

POSSIBLE LONDON FLOTATION

Kaspersky said Microsoft had held its traditional annual
meeting with computer security companies this summer and she had
not noticed co-operation was weakening.

In its open letter on Monday McAfee alleged that Microsoft
had firmly embedded in Vista its own security system which could
not be disabled even when users purchased an alternative
security product.

"Microsoft seems to envision a world in which one giant
company not only controls the systems that drive most computers
around the world but also the security that protects those
computers from viruses and other online threats," McAfee said in
its letter.

Symantec and other computer security companies have backed
McAfee's criticism of the Microsoft Vista system.

Microsoft has rejected their allegations and said it wished
to deliver a secure version of Windows Vista that would be
compliant with EU law.

Kaspersky Lab, which was founded in 1997 in Moscow, said it
was considering floating on London's junior Alternative
Investment Market (AIM) within the next three years.

However, it said it wanted to wait and see first how
Microsoft's new anti-virus product OneCare would fare on the
market before talking to investors and seeking a listing.

"After one or two years, we will see what position on the
market Microsoft's OneCare product gets and perhaps it will turn
out that Microsoft is just one among other providers of
anti-virus software," Kaspersky said.

Kaspersky's anti-spam software uses artificial intelligence
- it reads and analyses word combinations. The company's
consultants can work days on virus attacks which target specific
companies or organisations.

Its customers include the BBC Worldwide, France Telecom,
Telecom Italia Mobile, Russia's largest retail bank Sberbank and
several Russian ministries such as railway and finance.

Kaspersky said she had noticed that anti-virus police forces
around the world lacked resources.

NEW VIRUSES

She said new forms of attacks emerged every month or two.

Among the latest, most dangerous forms, was spyware which
allowed attackers to surreptitiously access files and
information such as credit card details left after making a
purchase online.

She said potent "rootkits" were also being developed to
prevent anti-virus software to work.

Kaspersky, which has offices in California, Asia and Europe,
employs 500 staff, is controlled by Natalya Kaspersky and her
ex-husband Yevgeny Kaspersky, a former cryptologist. Together
they own aboout 80 percent of the company.

She said the business was profitable on a pre-tax basis and
had enjoyed sales growth of nearly 20 percent in the past few
years.

She declined to provide precise revenue figures but said
annual sales estimates of between $30 million and $60 million
were realistic.

Kaspersky said the total amount of money stolen and the
damage caused by cyber-crime every year was far greater than the
global market for computer security systems which she said was
worth about $6 bilion in annual sales.

By: Astrid Wendlandt

Copyright 2006 Reuters. Click for Restrictions

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