IT Professionals

From Redmond With Love

Posted by on Jul 14, 2010 | 3 Comments

It’s almost difficult to not make some kind of James Bond joke out of Russian spies working for Microsoft’s software testing division, but here we are. Seems that one Alexey Karetnikov worked for Microsoft as a software tester and now we learn that he was, indeed, a Russian agent.

I suspect that some people might be wondering what someone working as a software tester might hope to gain from a spy’s perspective, but we have to remember that this was merely part of the identity building idea. I mean, let’s face it. Unless letting Russia in on the latest software bugs and Easter Eggs is somehow a boon to Russian interests, I believe that individuals such as Karetnikov were merely working their way up the ladder into bigger arenas within their circle of influence.

It’s wild to think that we still live in a world where this sort of thing can happen. Worse is that these folks were working right under our noses the whole time. The comedy I see is Mr. Karetnikov explaining Vista to his handlers.

[awsbullet:Ian Fleming Casino Royale]

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  • Randy Allen

    What difference does it make? It is silly for us, as a country, to think that any of our software has any privacy, security, or secrecy. We outsource nearly all of our hardware manufacturing, programming, and support to foreign countries, including China and Russia. Corporate America has already sold the entire country down the river in pursuit of better bottom lines by sending as many jobs overseas as possible, while sitting around moaning about how college students don’t enroll in technical courses such as software engineering. Why would they, after seeing their parents laid off from those very positions? It is the major symptom of what ails our country’s economy. Why would Russia, nearly a 3rd world country, want to spy on the United States, quickly becoming a 3rd world country, anyway? The only thing we have are old technology and old atomic weapons.

    Why would Microsoft be a target? The last success Microsoft had was with the xBox. IMHO the jury is still out on Windows 7, which reviewers say is “better than Vista” which is like saying eating steak is better than eating a dead rat.

  • Kevin

    Perhaps Vista WAS part of their “Master Plan”:

    Irritate the out of the world’s PC market – and use that time to secretly unleash some sort of mind control device.

    There are already several of these devices out there in the marketplace – all of which start with the letter “i” (in lower case), and have ALREADY managed to turn the Sheeple into iTards ;) ;)