In May this year, Oracle was picked as enterprises’ least favourite software vendor in a survey conducted by IDC, finishing last in all categories covering areas such as licensing complexity, ease of management and perceived ROI.

But if the ERP and database giant is aiming to build bridges with its seemingly alienated user base, its chief security officer Mary Ann Davidson clearly didn’t get the memo.

In a caustic blog post earlier this month, Davidson compared customers and consultants who “reverse engineer” its code in an effort to uncover vulnerabilities to “sinners” and adulterers.

The practice breaches Oracle’s licensing terms and conditions, Davidson said, adding that Oracle is “pretty good” at finding vulnerabilities in its code itself.

The missive (some of the choice cuts of which you can read at the bottom) was met with a storm of criticism, including from Bob Tarzey, a director at analyst Quocirca, who argued Oracle should be encouraging rather than sanctioning customers and researchers who scan its code for flaws at a time when ERP systems are increasingly coming under attack.

SOURCE: channelweb.co.uk