Re: Sound like busy days for anti-virus folkes ?
From: Susan Bradley, CPA aka Ebitz - SBS Rocks [MVP] (sbradcpa_at_pacbell.net)
Date: 02/16/04
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Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2004 21:41:18 -0800
And it was taken from a Linux computer.
Read into that what you like.
1/2 pint wrote:
> Hey Hey, looks like the Anti-Virus folks will be busy !
> Regards
> half_pint
> esboella@yahoo.com
>
> LONDON/AMSTERDAM - Internet users on Friday were
> ferociously downloading pirate versions of Microsoft
> Corp's Windows source code, stoking concerns hackers and
> virus writers could use it for a new wave of cyber
> attacks.
>
> The world's largest software maker alerted the public on
> Thursday that parts of its valuable source code for its
> Windows NT and Windows 2000 operating systems had been
> leaked to various online file-sharing networks. Microsoft
> said the released code amounted to a fraction of the
> entire program, but that wasn't stopping the curious and
> the malevolent from checking it out for themselves.
> Noting the size of the files being swapped on Internet
> file-sharing networks on Friday, security experts feared
> there could be enough compromised code available to crack
> open vital pieces of a software that run millions of
> computers.
>
> "Whilst we do not know exactly what's in circulation,
> every coder, every malware jockey and every hacker who
> has a reasonable understanding of programming is going to
> be looking to get their hands on this source code," said
> Richard Starnes, an information security specialist who
> works with various law enforcement agencies on cyber-
> crime investigations.
>
> SOURCE CODE FOR THE TAKING Various computer security
> firms were reporting on Friday that two compressed files -
> - one at 203 megabytes and another at 229 megabytes of
> Windows NT and Windows 2000 operating systems -- were
> being widely distributed on scores of online exchanges.
> Security officials said the compressed files amounted to
> a CD-Rom's worth of data and represented less than five
> percent of Windows code. However, they warned it may
> relate critical security functions.
>
> "I do not believe Microsoft would have issued a public
> statement if the source code for solitaire had been
> released," said Starnes. The concern is that in the wrong
> hands, virus writers and hackers could discover
> vulnerabilities in the software and use it to break into
> PCs running on Windows 2000 or NT to destroy or steal
> data. Microsoft on Thursday was quick to dismiss this as
> unlikely, but that hasn't deterred Internet users from
> downloading the files. "The source code leak spread
> quickly in the underground," said Ken Dunham, Malicious
> Code Intelligence manager for security consultancy
> iDefense. Microsoft said it believed the leak could be a
> software developer, but was no closer on Friday to
> pinpointing the suspect.
>
> Microsoft, which has been criticized for a number of
> software glitches that have been used by virus writers to
> develop potent Internet contagions, said it is working
> with the Federal Bureau of Investigations to track down
> the culprit. The list of suspects could be a long one.
> Microsoft last year began sharing parts of its Windows
> source code with governments interested in tailoring it
> to fit, primarily, their security needs.
>
> Microsoft also has a longer-running initiative to provide
> universities and large corporate customers pieces of its
> source code for research and development purposes with
> tight restrictions on making it publicly available. The
> initiatives were launched in part to address the
> competitive threat Microsoft was feeling from vendors of
> the open-source Linux software. Linux has gained valuable
> market share in recent years as government and corporate
> users see it as a transparent software alternative that
> can be customized to fit their needs.
>
> Microsoft responded to the Linux threat by offering
> discounts to win over budget-conscious customers and
> vowing to give customers a closer peek at its most
> valuable asset. "I don't think that this kind of shared
> source usage can be scaled back. It's become an essential
> part of our business practices. Governments want it for
> trust and transparency. Businesses want it for security,"
> Wilfried Grommen, general manager for Microsoft's
> business strategy for Europe, Middle East and Africa,
> told Reuters on Friday.
>
> "It's a very large group of people that have access to
> the source code. It includes people at 120 universities
> in 27 countries. It includes large enterprises," he said,
> adding Microsoft recently began distributing code to
> independent software developers too. "That is another
> large community," he said.
>
-- http://www.sbslinks.com/really.htm
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