Another Virus Attacks: ``SoBig'' Is the Result of Immature Software Industry, States Parasoft CEO

Another Virus Attacks: ``SoBig'' Is the Result of Immature Software Industry, States Parasoft CEO; IT Industry Expert Offers Solution to Frequent Worms and Viruses

MONROVIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 22, 2003--The latest assault by the computer virus, SoBig, a mass-mailing worm, which uses filed, email addresses to propagate itself, simply magnifies the world-wide urgency facing software developers and users -- the need for bug-free software.

BizVantage – The NOW newsletters, realtime with your content - for business, investment or technology.
Try the free, no-hassle 6 month trial!

"Our lives and businesses revolve around our computers. We cannot afford to be constantly bombarded with viruses and worms," says industry expert, Dr. Adam Kolawa, CEO and co-founder of Parasoft Corporation, a software manufacturer. He is also co-author of the book, "Bullet-proofing Web Applications" (2001). "We must stop bugs in their tracks and eliminate them.

"Today's CEO's have become complacent -- putting up with development delays, cost overruns and tolerating inferior software. They have been lulled into accepting the message that `bugs' are just part of the deal," says Kolawa. "As a result, operating systems are vulnerable to these attacks." He adds, "There is a solution to stop this madness. When are people going to listen?"

Known as a visionary and one of the brightest minds in the software industry, Dr. Kolawa believes that the industry must mature in order to arrest and eradicate these breaches in software. Maturing, says Dr. Kolawa, means changing the way the industry deals with errors or "bugs." "The industry naively believes that we must `kill' bugs at the end of the development cycle -- after they have been replicated many times, making them too difficult to find -- until a disaster occurs. In fact, we must prevent the bugs from even entering the software -- ensuring that it is secure and virus-proof."

In addition to the inconvenience, or perhaps catastrophe, of a computer crash or take-over, there are billions of dollars a year wasted because the software industry is relying on antiquated methods to deal with bugs. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, software errors cost businesses approximately $60 Billion a year!

After years of contemplating this quagmire of the software industry, Dr. Kolawa has taken a proven methodology, Automatic Error Prevention (AEP) -- a process which prevents errors throughout the development cycle -- and created a way to apply it to the software industry.

"Executives responsible for production line products, such as cars, televisions, even refrigerators, have been using AEP for many years. Car manufacturers do not wait until the end of the line to test various parts or systems of a car. That would be ridiculous -- and ridiculously expensive," says Kolawa.

"Why do people think that it is OK to do this in the software industry? There is a solution to all of these bugs, worms and viruses -- prevent them! How much damage has to be done before this market will mature? I am sure many CEOs would like to use their portion of that $60 Billion, previously wasted, on another project -- I wonder what the shareholders would say if they knew that these expenses could be eliminated!?" says Kolawa.

Kolawa says that companies are pushing defective software out the door because they are faced with liquidating damages and/or contract penalties from delayed products. Without accruing additional development hours, implementing AEP methodology helps companies to meet their deadlines, error free and within their budgets. "I have the solution -- which will even help Microsoft," says Kolawa.

Dr. Kolawa is available for interviews. Please contact Jane Daye at 626-922-6819 to arrange a scheduled interview. If you have an immediate need to interview Dr. Kolawa, please call his cell phone at 626-375-3011. A brief bio follows. If you would like to read a list of articles Dr. Kolawa has authored, please log into our website, www.parasoft.com and click on the "Media Room."

Bio: Dr. Adam Kolawa is the co-founder of a major software company, Parasoft Corporation, located in Southern California. Dr. Kolawa is considered a leading innovator and visionary in the software market. Co-author of "Bulletproofing Web Applications" (2001), Kolawa has written technical articles and commentary pieces for various leading publications such as Software Development, CIO Magazine and SD Times. Additionally, he has presented on software quality, trends and development issues at various industry conferences.

Kolawa holds a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from the California Institute of Technology. In 2001, Kolawa was awarded the Los Angeles Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the software category. He has been granted nine patents, including the first parallel computer and numerous application development software products.

About Parasoft

Founded in 1987, Parasoft is a privately held company whose clients include IBM, HP, Daimler Chrysler and over 10,000 companies worldwide. Parasoft is headquartered in Monrovia, CA. Telephone 626-305-0041. Fax 626-305-3036. Email interview requests to jane_daye@parasoft.com. URL: http://www.parasoft.com.

The company's solutions and products automate practices which apply Parasoft's AEP methodology such as: coding standards; static analysis; unit testing; regression testing; load & stress testing; functional testing; integration testing; application testing and monitoring. These solutions enable software development and IT organizations to significantly reduce costs by shortening production cycles, improving overall quality and reducing time-to-market. Parasoft has been granted nine patents, with others pending, and numerous awards for the technology behind its innovative line of solutions and products.

C O P Y R I G H T   R E M I N D E R

This article is Copyright 2003 by Business Wire.

All articles in the clari.* news hierarchy are Copyrighted and licensed to ClariNet Communications Corp. for distribution. Except for articles in the biz.clarinet newsgroups, only paid subscribers may access these articles. Any unauthorized access, reproduction or transmission is strictly prohibited.

We offer a reward to the person who first provides us with information that helps stop those who distribute or receive our news feeds without authorization. Please send reports to reward@clari.net. [Use info@clari.net for sales or other inquiries.]

Details on the use of ClariNet material and other info can be found in the user documentation section of our web page.