Robert Lemos

Readers of my personal site and SecurityFocus will not see a lot of coverage on the PatchGuard controversy. I wanted to explain why.

On Friday, SecurityFocus published a news brief that I wrote on the controversy over Microsoft’s PatchGuard security. The brief is short and mainly documents the initial salvos between the two sides in what will likely be a long war or words, which will possibly move into the court room. The issue pits Microsoft against two security companies, Symantec and McAfee. As most readers are aware, my main contract as a freelancer is with Symantec as the Editor-at-large for its independent news and information site SecurityFocus.

Taking on that freelance position has been a great opportunity, but not one without it’s journalistic perils. Because Symantec is such a major force in the security world, it’s inevitable that issues that deserve coverage will also pose conflicts of interest. In each case, I attempt to adhere to the ethics guidelines of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Journalism ethics is not only about avoiding real conflicts of interest, but perceived conflicts of interest. Even if I believe I could cover the story and place fair treatment and the truth ahead of all other considerations–and I do believe that I could–there is no way for me to prove to the reader that the obvious conflicts involved are not swaying my writing.

The Patchguard controversy is a complex issue that is not a simple as either Microsoft or the antivirus vendors would have people believe. It deserves coverage, because both sides have a lot at stake and the end result could eventually affect the security of most consumers. I have interviewed players on both sides of the controversy. However, because I cannot avoid the inherent conflicts of interest, I will not be covering it aside from the occasional brief to update readers on the status of the issues.

This is the first time that I have decided to refuse to cover a particular issue. When I took the freelance position at SecurityFocus, I knew I would also have to deal with the ethical quandaries as they arose. I don’t do it lightly. Please feel free to give me your thoughts on the matter.