Microsoft backs down on Hailstorm

Microsoft has abandoned its Hailstorm platform because of privacy and security risks in centralised storage of personal information, a privacy advocate group said.

Hailstorm was intended to permit an individual to keep an online persona, independent of the desktop computer, supposedly stored safely as part of a data repository where there could be easy access to it from the web.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (Epic) said despite Microsoft's claims to the contrary, user privacy and security were not protected by Hailstorm.

In its alert, Epic said Microsoft was unable to find partner companies that were willing to use the Hailstorm system for collecting information on consumers.

"Now Microsoft plans to sell Hailstorm to individual companies, allowing decentralised building of data centres," Epic said.

Epic, along with fifteen consumer organisations, filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission last year alleging Hailstorm and its related services violated federal consumer protection laws.

Rob Enderle, an analyst at Giga Information Group, explained that Microsoft is pulling the repository and will be focusing on others, mostly banks, to do that work.

"We really didn't think many would trust Microsoft, or any vendor, for this anyway, and it looks like Microsoft agreed and has made the necessary program changes to de-mission their own repository," Enderle said.

.Net MyServices continues, he said, but the Microsoft hosted repository is on hold indefinitely and this is a good thing.

Microsoft first introduced the Hailstorm services idea in March 2001 with the initial support of American Express and eBay. Since last year, no other large company has said it plans to use the service.

The company will consider selling MyServices to comanies in a traditional package, rather than as a service. The companies would maintain the date for their own users.