Microsoft Builds In Security Bypasses
I am very suspicious of tools that allow you to bypass network security systems. Yes, they make life easier. But if security is important, than all security decisions should be made by a central process; tools that bypass that centrality are very risky.
I didn’t like SOAP for that reason, and I don’t like the sound of this new Microsoft thingy:
We’re always looking for new things that can allow you to do things uniquely different today. For example, this new feature tool we have would allow me to tunnel directly using HTTP into my corporate Exchange server without having to go through the whole VPN (virtual private network) process, bypassing the need to use a smart card. It’s such a huge time-saver, for me at least, compared to how long it takes me now. We will be extending that functionality to the next version of Windows.
That’s Martin Taylor, Microsoft’s general manager of platform strategy, talking.
Nicholas Weaver • July 26, 2005 1:51 PM
Well, thats the problem with “too much” security (namely, anything that annoys the user), it gets bypassed (“tunnel everything over http/https”).
A better question is “Why is the VPN such a pain to use that you WANT to tunnel everything over HTTP?”