A article over at PCWorld yesterday entitled
Hacking Impresario: 'Windows Safer Than Mac' quotes the organizer of
Pwn2Own stating that Windows 7 is more secure than Snow Leopard.
Contest organizer Aaron Portnoy, who is the security research team lead with 3Com TippingPoint, the sponsor of Pwn2Own, told Computerworld's Gregg Keizer that:
"Safari will be the first to go. [Safari will] be on Snow Leopard, which isn't on the same level as Windows 7."
Of course this stance is disputed by other security impresarios (talk about an author using a thesaurus).
Microsoft has been THE target of hackers for so long that they had to have learned. Mac has had the privilege of being under the radar for a long time since they were the plucky underdog. However, as their sales rise, more hackers will start targeting the platform.
And it also shows that marketing is a really king. For years I have said that a large part of Microsoft's rise as been marketing. Mac has been touting its security and I even hear my parent's telling me Mac's are more secure! I doubt this will perception will change any time soon, but it is a little vindicating to see reality starting to bubble up in the press.