Bonum Certa Men Certa

Liability for Software When Life is at Stake

A few months ago we used the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as an example of hugely costly Microsoft failures. The stock market crashed in the technical sense and Microsoft, along with those who are informed or responsible, dodged questions about the problem, which recurs once in several months. That was about money, but this time around it's about people's welfare, health, and even lives.



With roughly 320,000,000 zombie PCs out there, how can any sane person put Windows in mission-critical settings like a hospital? Well, that's just what some people do. They apparently learned nothing from a hospital near Microsoft Corporation turning into a massive botnet and it's happening again, this time in London. Yesterday's reports indicate that 3 hospitals were shut down due to Windows virus infections:

BBC: Computer virus affects hospitals

Three London hospitals have been forced to shut down their entire computer systems for at least 24 hours after being hit by a virus.


The Register: PC virus forces three London hospitals into computer shutdown

Three London Hospitals shut down their computer systems on Tuesday in response to a computer virus infection.

[...]

The infection at Barts and London Trust was reportedly caused by the Mytob worm, which contains built-in spyware functionality. Mytob spreads by email and has the ability to plant backdoor software on compromised Windows PCs.


Database leaks are only natural to expect. This means that any person's personal information and health record can make its way into a hot BitTorrent within hours. It's wonderful, is it not?

“This means that any person's personal information and health record can make its way into a hot BitTorrent within hours.”We have already produced and provided some evidence to show that Windows is insecure by design and probably irreparable. Unless it's overhauled radically or reimplemented from scratch, it can never benefit from several decades of UNIX doctrine, mostly trials and errors which made a robust, scientifically-backed model.

With Microsoft whistleblowers crying foul about critical failures and then getting sacked, one can't help wondering how Microsoft perceives liability. Appended below are several fairly recent articles about liability, bad software, dangers in healthcare, and questionable EULAs.

For information about the NHS and Microsoft, see this page (to avoid needlessly repeating old references).

_____ [1] Experts are calling for product liability for software

"Product liability does not apply to software," Gerald Spindler of the Faculty of Law of the University of Göttingen complained. "But what if a whole company comes to a standstill due to faulty software?" he mused.


[2] "Microsoft's 10Q Risk Factors Lists Conceivable Liability for Data Leaks

Improper disclosure of personal data could result in liability and harm our reputation. We store and process significant amounts of personally identifiable information. It is possible that our security controls over personal data, our training of employees and vendors on data security, and other practices we follow may not prevent the improper disclosure of personally identifiable information. Such disclosure could harm our reputation and subject us to liability under laws that protect personal data, resulting in increased costs or loss of revenue. Our software products also enable our customers to store and process personal data. Perceptions that our products do not adequately protect the privacy of personal information could inhibit sales of our products.


[3] Linux guru argues against security liability

Alan Cox, one of the leading Linux kernel developers, has told a House of Lords hearing that neither open- nor closed-source developers should be liable for the security of the code they write.


[4] New banking code cracks down on out-of-date software

The banking industry has re-affirmed a policy that makes online banking customers responsible for losses if they have out of date anti-virus or anti-phishing protection. New Banking Codes for consumers and businesses took effect on Monday.


[5] Secure web browsing through Live Linux distros

Banking isn't the be-all and end-all: there's many other reasons you'd want a secure system, separate from what's on the hard disk, besides Internet banking. Traveller's can't necessarily trust the integrity of a computer in an Internet cafe.


[6] Online banking fraud 'up 8,000%'

The UK has seen an 8,000% increase in fake internet banking scams in the past two years, the government's financial watchdog has warned.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) told peers it was "very concerned" about the growth in "phishing".


[7] Swedish bank hit by 'biggest ever' online heist

Haxdoor typically installs keyloggers to record keystrokes, and hides itself using a rootkit. The payload of the .ki variant of the Trojan was activated when users attempted to log in to the Nordea online banking site. According to the bank, users were redirected to a false home page, where they entered important log-in information, including log-in numbers.


[8] Microsoft confirms OneCare zaps Outlook, Outlook Express e-mail

Microsoft Corp. has acknowledged that a bug in its Windows Live OneCare security suite has been causing users' e-mail to vanish from Outlook and Outlook Express.


[9] In zombies we trust

A little over a year ago, I wrote an editorial where in back-of-the-envelope style (.pdf) I estimated that perhaps 15-30% of all privately owned computers were no longer under the sole control of their owner. In the intervening months, I received a certain amount of hate mail but in those intervening months Vint Cert guessed 20-40%, Microsoft said 2/3rds, and IDC suggested 3/4ths. It is thus a conservative risk position to assume that any random counterparty stands a fair chance of being already compromised.


[10] Your data or your life

As unlikely and alarmist as this sounds, it could really happen. Intracare is the publisher of a popular practice management system called Dr. Notes. When some doctors balked at a drastic increase in their annual software lease, they were cut off from accessing their own patients? information.

This situation is completely unconscionable. There can be no truly open doctor-patient relationship when an unrelated third party is the de facto owner of and gatekeeper to all related data.


[11] Use Health Vault, Lose Your Rights

Microsoft has announced (NY Times Article) Health Vault. What should have followed here is a review of the service by my actually trying it.

[...]

Heard enough? So had I. I'm absolutely going to pass on Health Vault. In addition to looking like the Microsoft Passport debacle redux, this is a very one-sided contract. They can harm you but you cannot harm them. There is no way for any 3rd party to verify that their privacy and security software works.


[12] Microsoft Healthvault Patient Safety in Question

One topic I've not seen addressed is the safety and effectiveness of the data within HV - and I don't mean "safety" as in the data is secure from unauthorized access or misuse. I mean "safety" as in the utilization of data stored in HV by other applications won't result in an unsatisfactory patient outcome, you know, like death or injury.


[13] HealthVault: No Commitments and a Sleeping Watchdog.

Has Microsoft committed to keeping the promises that it has already made? No, just the opposite. Their privacy policy concludes:“We may occasionally update this privacy statement”

Which means that when the commitments that Microsoft has made regarding HealthVault become inconvenient, they will simply change them.


[14] HealthVault: Failing the seven generations test

...My mother died of ovarian cancer. My grandmother took a drug while my mother was in utero that increase the chances that my mother would get ovarian cancer. Any consideration given to my mothers genetic propensity to get cancer must take into account this environmental influence...My grandmothers medical record will remain relevant for at least five generations...How long should we be keeping our electronic medical records? We should ensure that they are available for the next seven generations...A private, for-profit, corporation is an inappropriate storehouse for records that the next seven generations will need. Corporations do not last long enough. Consider the Dow Jones Industrial Average, of the original 12 companies that made up the index, only one is still listed...

[...]

But this is still Microsoft we are talking about, which all things being equal, is especially bad. Microsoft has a history of abusing standards, and using those abuses to enable and extend its monopolies. In short they have a history of “being evil” in exactly the sort of way that we cannot afford to have impact our healthcare records.


[15] Bill Gates: Vista is so secure it could run life support systems

While on a visit in Romania, where Bill Gates participated in the celebration of 10 years since the Microsoft branch has been running there, and the launch of Vista, Microsoft?s president declared that, with the right ammount of administration, the new Vista could run life support systems in hospitals.


[16] Do Microsoft's EULAs have any real legal basis?

"Microsoft has no special exemption from the sale of goods act." Well, no, probably not - but it might still be selling you "services" instead of "goods". But the real point to remember is that it doesn't matter a jot what the "logical" position is, it is what the courts decide that matters.

As far as I know, no one has tested Microsoft's EULAs in a UK court and, until someone does, Microsoft will just go on assuming that they work. And I don't fancy the risk of taking on Microsoft's expensive lawyers in court myself...


[17] EULA La Vista, Baby

Well, I've taken a good look at the license agreement -- I had insomnia -- and I've discovered some clauses that will freeze your blood, curl your hair, and do your nails.


[18] Vista's EULA Product Activation Worries

Mark Rasch looks at the license agreement for Windows Vista and how its product activation component, which can disable operation of the computer, may be like walking on thin ice.

[...]

"Does the Microsoft EULA adequately tell you what will happen if you don't activate the product or if you can't establish that it is genuine? Well, not exactly. It does tell you that some parts of the product won't work - but it also ambiguously says that the product itself won't work. Moreover, it allows Microsoft, through fine print in a generally unread and non negotiable agreement, to create an opportunity for economic extortion."


[19] MSN Music Debacle Highlights EULA Dangers

MSN Music’s EULA is a case in point. When active, MSN Music's webpage touted that customers could “choose their device and know its going to work”.

But when customers went to purchase songs, they were shown legalese that stated the download service and the content provided were sold without warrantee. In other words, Microsoft doesn't promise you that the service or the music will work, or that you will always have access to music you bought. The flashy advertising promised your music, your way, but the fine print said, our way or the highway.


Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

The US Government is Now in the Business (Literally!) of Saving Microsoft and Intel
This means that President TACO/Cheeto now has greater financial incentive to also prop up Microsoft and Windows
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
 
Links 23/08/2025: Science, War, and Important Win for the British Media Against SLAPPers Who Abuse Women
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/08/2025: BaseLibre Numerical System and Back to Oldschool
Links for the day
"Deserved Victory" for "Women That Suffered"
"GNM defended its reporting as being both true and in the public interest and in a judgment on Friday"
Links 23/08/2025: onmicrosoft.com as Spam Cannon, The Cheeto-Intel Deal Is Official
Links for the day
Wired Complained About LLM Slop Only Days Before It Got Caught Doing That Itself
Never throw stones in a glass house
IBM "Value" Down 14.16% in a Month, Red Hat Layoffs Allegedly Discussed 12 Days Ago
"IBM is a dinosaur. Dinosaurs get extinct when the don't keep up."
We're Seeing More Countries Where Windows Isn't Even in Second Place Anymore (Third or Worse)
In a way, Microsoft can barely even hold onto second place anymore
Microsoft Workers on Canonical's Payroll
If you want something that's sort of like Ubuntu but is not controlled by Canonical, then look into Linux Mint, Debian, or LMDE
GNU/Linux Climbs to 4% in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone isn't a very rich country (to say the least), but it's better off than some of its neighbours
The SLAPPS Run Out of Oxygen Because They're Abuse of Process
At the end of the day we plan to publish over 1,000 articles explaining what happened
The Register MS Gets Paid by the Employer of the Previous Editor in Chief to Promote the "AI" Ponzi Scheme, Which Does Considerable Damage to the Web and to Online Journalists
The Register MS can 'badmouth' slop all it wants; it gets paid to inflate this bubble. It's actively participating in it.
Soon It'll be Autumn, Time to Repair Things
Where they don't charge an arm and a leg
Doing Our Best to Cover Software Patents When the Mainstream Media Does Not
Even the FSF has its limits
Gemini Links 23/08/2025: August Questions and Network Solutions
Links for the day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 22, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 22, 2025
Microsoft Has Issues in Guyana
It's not just Guyana
About 25% of the "Linux" News/Results in Google News Today Are LLM Slop, Almost 20% From the Same Rogue Operators of Slopfarms
Google, which tries to market itself as an LLM giant, apparently fails to understand what's wrong with it
Harassing People on Holiday
There are "no-go areas"; but that assumes all laws firms have ethical standards
The Great, Undeniable Value of Paper Trail, Not Purely Digital Systems
Suppose you have nothing but bits on someone else's computer and "word of mouth"...
The Company Behind Ars Technica, Reddit and Wired Caught Publishing LLM Slop (It Also Admits It Now)
Condé Nast busted
Links 22/08/2025: Lagrange 1.18.8, Wired Magazine and Business Insider Caught Resorting to LLM Slop
Links for the day
This Saturday It's Gonna be 3.5 Years* Since Russia Invaded Ukraine. No Microsoft Protests Against Microsoft Having Provided Russia With Services.
Companies do not have consistent policies and enforcement of "corporate values" is somewhat of an egg salad
Slopwatch: Sites Gone Rogue, Google Promoting Lies, and DDoS Attacks by Plagiarism Giants
Charlatans and frauds engage in a war against artistic industries, mislabeling plagiarism as "AI"
Links 22/08/2025: Cisco Layoffs, LA Times Says "AI Hype is Fading Fast"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/08/2025: K for Kentucky and Caddy Versus LLM Slopbots
Links for the day
The "End Software Patents" Initiative of the FSF Explains "WHY [to] ABOLISH SOFTWARE PATENTS"
We hope to cover patent-related issues more and more as the big anniversary of the FSF approaches
Freenode Sniffing
The grown-ups left the building
The Only Thing Worse Than Misinformation is Misinformation Sold to Everyone as "Intelligence"
Misplaced trust is worse than none at all
The Register MS Now Openly Admits LLM Hype Does Damage, But It's Also Being Paid to Participate in the LLM Hype (With Paid 'Articles' and 'Webcasts' for Paying Advertisers)
The Register MS gets paid to do this
End of the Smartphone Era? No.
Maybe the media should focus on producing accurate, factual news
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 21, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 21, 2025
Enshittification of Airports, Airlines, and Airplanes
If people are willing to tolerate standard declines and enshittification (nowadays sold as "pivot to AI" or "replaced by AI" or "AI layoffs") they will pay for it some other way
Latest Is Not Greatest: The Case of "Foldable" Tech
don't be shamed into abandoning old things just because the "fashion industry" of Apple and Samsung tells you to
Airlines and Their Tricks That Only Work in the 'Digital Age'
People sceptical of the direction technology has taken are not "Luddites"
Open Source Initiative (OSI), Which Became a Propaganda Front of Microsoft and "Hey Hi" (Hype, Misnomer), Wants You to Forget These Scandals
A lot of these issues won't be set aside until there's a resolution
The Culture of Overnight Coding
An industry-wise push-back is needed
Windows Down to New Lows in Guinea Bissau and Many Countries Around It
If Android is accounted for, Windows is down to about 10%
Gemini Links 21/08/2025: Modern Dating, Debian 13, and Apache
Links for the day
Microsoft Has Had About 10 Waves of Mass Layoffs So Far This Year (Not Two as Mainstream Media and Slopfarms Endlessly Claim)
Notice how the MSM (Mainstream Media) never mentions the debt of Microsoft. It is a conscious, deliberate decision.
Links 21/08/2025: Covid Cases on the Rise, "Social Media Trolls", Russia's Attacks Intensify
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/08/2025: The Attraction of Back Alleys, Initramfs, and BSD ISPs
Links for the day
Links 21/08/2025: Stephanie Shirley Dies and "Groklaw Domain Hijacked?"
Links for the day
Search in 2025 (Age of DDoS Attacks Under the Guise of "AI" "Innovation")
One common concern when things go "live" is that any random bot out there can execute queries, pumping up RAM and CPU usage, as happened when we used MediaWiki and WordPress
Using Slop for Images Does Not Make Your Site Look Advanced or Witty, It Just Makes Your Whole Work Look Like Presumed Plagiarism
Lazy slobs and Serial Sloppers use the guise/excuse of "AI" to plagiarise and spam the Web
Financing of the "Hey Hi" (AI) Bubble by Those Who Profit From Planetary Destruction (Global Warming)
It's about personal gain, too
Richard Stallman Will Speak in Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress
it's good to see that the FSF pays considerable respect to it founder, who is moreover invited to speak at events
(At Least) Second Wave of Mass Layoffs in Microsoft This Month
This is not the first time this month that Microsoft has mass layoffs
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 20, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 20, 2025