Microsoft recruits EU investigator loaded with competitors' secrets

The Inquirer ^ | 11-28-2002 | Paul Hales

[JameRetief]

Microsoft recruits EU investigator loaded with competitors' secrets

Trustworthy initiative

By Paul Hales: Thursday 28 November 2002, 11:43

AN EU OFFICIAL who was involved in gathering evidence from Microsoft's competitors in the on-going European Commission anti-trust investigation into the software company's monopolistic behaviour is taking time off from his day job to go work for, erm, Microsoft.

Detlef Eckert, promised not to reveal confidential commission information to Microsoft during stay at the company, Commission spokesman Per Haugaard told Bloomberg.

For its part, Microsoft says Eckert will be involved in developing the company's "trustworthy computing" initiative. He is to enter Voledom to start his three-year sentence on Monday.

Yet, Ed Black, president of Computer & Communications Industry Association, whose members include Oracle, and Yahoo!, told Bloomberg that he "and others working with me" had shared with Eckert "our full range of views and inside information on our objectives and strategy." Microsoft will now have three years to weedle everything Eckert has learned out of him.

Haugaard said Eckert's plan to go work for Microsoft was approved by the director of the information society department. He said the commission had "gone out of our way to ensure everyone, Microsoft and Eckert, know the rules of the game.

"He has been told in no uncertain terms he should not deal with any EU issue while at Microsoft," added the spokesman.

So that's alright then. µ

[JameRetief]

Microsoft FYI, ping.

[rdb3]

The Penguin Ping.

Wanna be Penguified? Just holla!

Got root?

[demlosers]

I'm sure this will make Bush2000 happy.

[chilepepper]

Microsoft says Eckert will be involved in developing the company's "trustworthy computing"

Sounds like a real trustworthy type of guy... now why does none of this surprise me??

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

This is ethical?

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

[Libertarianize the GOP]

bump

[TheEngineer]

I'm sure this will make Bush2000 happy.

And Microsoft giving the shaft to the American-haters in the EU makes you unhappy???

[demlosers]

And Microsoft giving the shaft to the American-haters in the EU makes you unhappy???

Nope, elicited no such emotion.

[dheretic]

You're assuming that the information was not provided by European offices of American multinationals like Sun, IBM, Apple, RedHat, etc. I for one would have say that regardless of who they got intel on, this is unethical. Their competitors no doubt gave sensitive information to this guy and he in turn goes to work for Microsoft. That's a classic case of a conflict of interest. If you don't play by equal rules then you play by might makes right.

[TechJunkYard]

.. regardless of who they got intel on, this is unethical.... That's a classic case of a conflict of interest.

Oh come now. Eckert was involved in all kinds of stuff that I'm sure Microsoft would have no interest in. After all, it's just a three-year temp assignment to work on Trustworthy Computing, right? (/sarcasm)

Maybe he's actually spying on Microsoft for the EU?

[boris]

If the EU didn't make him sign a confidentiality agreement or specify that he could not work for specific entities for specific lengths of time, then what he did was perfectly legal.

Ethically challenged, but legal.

And who would be so stupid as to not bind him with this sort of mandate?

--Boris