Software vulnerability auction website

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Your chance to improve software security for your children and future generations. If you find a security flaw in a software product – don’t tell the vendor – sell it on www.wslabi.com – a Swiss “ebay” for software vulnerabilities, aimed at selling to the highest bidder. Make Microsoft and the rest of them pay for their screw-ups. Nothing like hitting companies in the bottom line to get them to improve product quality.

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http://www.theregister.com/2007/07/06/security_flaw_marketplace/

_CreeD_

:eek:

Sure...Microsoft will pay....after the users have been through the mill.

NutJob

A little harsh selling a flaw at least give them a few months to fix it or not.

Not all companies are the evil empire

scojones

NutJob wrote:

A little harsh selling a flaw at least give them a few months to fix it or not.

Not all companies are the evil empire

This sort of carry on causes small companies to go under. It's just giving the big companies like Microsoft an edge tbh. This is far from ethical.

ecksor

Surely this is just a agency service between vulnerability researchers and the likes of iDefense rather than being for the purposes of holding large vendors to ransom. Mind you, I guess there's nothing to stop them from bidding but I suspect that this information is of more value to the companies that sell "security intelligence" services that this information forms the basis of.

Vulnerabilities in the products of small companies tend not to be in huge demand (the companies who actively purchase such information tend to keep lists of vendors they are interested in and it reflects the purchasing policies of their clients).

Capt'n Midnight

There is also nothing stopping you buying a vulnerability and patenting the fix for it. You don't actually have to develop a fix just patent the concept of a fix for that vulnerability. If a third party develops a fix independently you can charge them whatever you want or legally prevent then deploying their fix.