Photos: Microsoft's bug hunters

Microsoft's Andrew Cushman dresses in a bug costume in an effort to highlight the importance of security. Cushman, pictured here with then-chief of Windows development Brian Valentine, donned the costume at an internal "bug bash" in 1998.

"I wore the bug suit as a way to entice team members to show up," he said. "I was demonstrating that the meeting was important enough that I would debase myself." Cushman is director of the Microsoft Security Response Center.

Bug hunters like Cushman have helped shape security practices at Microsoft over the past 10 years. Part 1 of a CNET News.com special report, which launched Monday, takes a look at how much of today's practices can be traced to painful lessons Microsoft learned firsthand. Part 2 of the report, which ran Tuesday, examines the role of the human element in helping to squash bugs. The final story, which made its debut Wednesday, looks at the changing nature of threats.