Apple hires ex-Microsoft Vista security researcher

OPERATING SYSTEM DEVELOPER Apple has hired high-profile security researcher Kristin Paget, who previously worked at Microsoft.

Microsoft hired Paget during its Windows Vista development lifecycle to improve security in the much maligned Windows PC operating system. Paget left Microsoft years ago, and has worked for a number of niche security firms before being picked up by Apple.

Paget's work on Windows Vista remained under NDA for years, but last year she was finally allowed to reveal details. She said that her team had discovered a number of bugs in Windows Vista, which eventually led to Microsoft delaying the release of the operating system.

Although Paget's specific project within Apple is unknown other than that she is working as a "core operating system security researcher", that the firm decided to hire the same person Microsoft brought in to help shore up its operating system security after Windows XP speaks volumes.

Apple's Mac OS X and IOS have remained relatively unscathed by serious security vulnerabilities, but as the firm's products grow in popularity they become increasingly attractive for attackers. Earlier this year Apple's Mac OS X was hit by a Java security vulnerability that took over six weeks to patch and led to Apple dropping its maintenance of Java for Mac OS X, with the incident highlighting the potential future problems if Apple relies on others for security. µ