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February 12, 2004
Windows Code-Leak Rumor Lights up 'Net



By Susan Kuchinskas and Michael Singer



Internet sites and relay channels are aflame over an item that hit a Windows rumor and tip site claiming that Windows 2000 and Windows NT source code was leaked and available on the Internet. NeoWin, a site that bills itself as "unprofessional journalism," reported the rumor late Thursday afternoon.


Apparently, according to the NeoWin posting, "two packages are circulating on the internet, one being the source code to Windows 2000, and the other being the source code to Windows NT."


When asked to comment, Microsoft responded by e-mail that "the rumor regarding the availability of Windows source code is based on the speculation of an individual who saw a small section of un-identified code and thought it looked like Windows code. Microsoft is looking into this as a matter of due diligence."


IDC research director Al Gillen said too many questions remain unanswered at this point, such as whether the leak was all of the code or only part, which part and what form it was in when compromised. "That all has to be answered before you can even start to assess how serious it is for Microsoft," Gillen told internetnews.com He pointed out that the entire application contains some 40 million lines of code. "I don't think that someone is going to zip that up and send it around."


If code were leaked, there would be plenty of suspects, such as the more than 50 universities participating in the Microsoft Shared Source Initiative (SSI), which makes parts of the operating system code available to select developers.


Microsoft's SSI makes various portions of code available to academics and students in the hope that they might choose to work with it instead of or in addition to the open source Linux.


Conspiracy theories aside, there are two real threats to Microsoft if substantial code has been leaked, according to Yankee Group senior analyst Laura Didio: even worse security for Microsoft apps and bootleg copies of the software being passed around like bottles of Thunderbird wine.


Didio told internetnews.com that valid threats are on the increase because the people creating the attacks are more sophisticated -- and the technology is more available.


"Up until now it was more like the 70/30 rule, where 70 percent of the threats are bogus. Now it's more like 50/50," Didio said. "With the open source community, there are a large percentage of tinkers and 'ankle biters' who are trying their hand at hacking. Some are even communicating with each other. So it only takes one or two of these groups sharing information to be able to pull something off. When you have this type of passion, it's hard to fight because these people are like virtual suicide car bombers."


Didio also said the issue of bootleg copies of Windows NT or Windows 2000 pose another headache for the software industry in general if the code running around the Internet is in fact the full version of either platform.


"If it is the full version, anyone who got their hands on it would have their work cut out for them," Didio said. "Windows Server 2000 had 35 million lines of code. That is a lot to recompile, and it's certainly something to be concerned about. Pirated software impacts not only Microsoft but also all the other software vendors out there."


Even if the intercepted code were limited to the 100 million aggregate lines distributed as part of Microsoft's Shared Source program, Didio pointed out that that might be enough to modify and launch future attacks.