Microsoft Says Parts of Source Code Were Leaked

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

Forwarded from: William Knowles <wk () c4i org>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38314-2004Feb12.html

By Brian Krebs
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, February 13, 2004

Microsoft Corp. last night confirmed that portions of the source code 
for two versions of its Windows operating system have leaked onto the 
Internet, a security breach that could give hackers important 
intelligence about how to exploit flaws in software run by many of the 
world's computers.

"Today we became aware that incomplete portions of Windows 2000 and NT 
4.0 source code was illegally made available on the Internet," 
Microsoft spokesman Tom Pilla said. "It's illegal for third parties to 
post Microsoft source code and we take that activity very seriously."

Pilla said the company does not know how much of the code was 
compromised, but he said Microsoft believes it was not a complete 
version of either operating system. There was no indication of a 
breach in Microsoft's internal network, Pilla said. He said the FBI is 
investigating.

Windows 2000 and NT are widely deployed in business networks; less so 
on home computers.

Computer security experts said the release of Windows source code 
could pose a threat to Internet security, depending on what portion of 
the code was leaked.

A leak of any portion "could dramatically increase the probability 
that new zero-day vulnerabilities will be found," said Alan Paller, 
director of research at the SANS Institute, a security training group 
based in Bethesda.

"Zero day" attacks exploit a security vulnerability before or at the 
same time a software maker learns of the flaw. 

Thor Larholm, senior security researcher at Newport Beach, 
Calif.-based PivX Solutions, said the Windows source code file being 
traded on the Internet appears to be roughly 660 megabytes in size, 
about one CD-ROM's worth of data. That is far short of the estimated 
40 gigabytes of data that make up the entire Windows code.

But even a partial leak "is a potentially very serious problem for 
Microsoft," Larholm said. "Just look at the vulnerabilities that are 
discovered by people who didn't have access to the source code."

Howard Schmidt, former head of security at Microsoft, said he was less 
concerned about the security implications of the leak than its 
potential threat to Microsoft's intellectual property.

"From a security standpoint, this is sort of like capturing a 1956 
Russian fighter jet," said Schmidt, now chief security officer at 
online auction giant eBay. "Everyone has been beating on Windows 2000 
and NT for a long time, and any flaws that may be found have likely 
been fixed long ago. Frankly, I'd be more worried that someone was 
going to use this as a base for developing software or another 
operating system based on Microsoft's proprietary code."

The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant closely guards the Windows 
source code but does license portions of it to security researchers 
and more than 50 universities under its "Shared Source Initiative."

Microsoft, in a competitive strike against the rival Linux operating 
system, last year said it would began sharing large portions of the 
source code with governments around the world that want to validate 
the security of the software before deploying it in national defense 
and other sensitive areas. 

Unlike open-source software like Linux, the code comprising Windows is 
not open for public inspection. Linux users are encouraged to 
participate in an open, continuous cycle of modifications and upgrades 
that its proponents say results in systems that are more secure and 
reliable than those powered by proprietary code like Windows.


Brian Krebs is a reporter for washingtonpost.com. Staff writers Mike 
Musgrove and Jonathan Krim contributed to this report. 



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