Security Flaw Found in Microsoft Web Service

Microsoft Corp.’s new Web services computing platform leaves programs running on it vulnerable to attack because of a flaw in a related product officially released Thursday, a software evaluation company said.

The flaw, if left unfixed, could make software built on Microsoft’s Visual Studio.Net open to tampering, according to Garry McGraw, chief technology officer at Dulles, Va.-based Cigital Inc. Microsoft held events in San Francisco and Chicago to celebrate the release of tools for software developers, saying security enhancements and other features made it ideal for building programs that deliver services over the Internet. Microsoft is investigating the claim, a spokesman said.