Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday disputed claims made by an Oracle Corp. executive that the company uses Unix on its Web servers instead of its flagship Windows program, which is the main operating system targeted by hackers.
Oracle has been pitching its own software as "unbreakable" in a new marketing campaign which executives have used in part to call attention to what they see as the improved security of their platform running on Unix compared to Microsoft"s rival Windows standard.
Since Oracle launched its new ad campaign seven weeks ago, the number of hackers that have tried to hack the company"s Web site has risen ten-fold, Oracle said last week.
But malicious hackers attempting to break into Oracle"s Web site have been trying to exploit known holes in Windows NT, an executive told Reuters last week, apparently unaware that Oracle was running Unix.
Mark Jarvis, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Oracle, added: "Microsoft doesn"t even use NT on their own Web site. They use Unix. It"s rather ironic."
Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler denied that, saying the company"s main Web site uses Windows 2000 and a beta version of Windows.Net Server, the successor to Windows NT.
The only Microsoft Web site that uses Unix, along with Microsoft software, is Hotmail, the free e-mail Web site Microsoft acquired in early 1998, said a spokeswoman. That site is being migrated over to Microsoft software, the company said.