February 13, 2004 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Software giant Microsoft (microsoft.com) said on Thursday that portions of source code for the Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0 operating systems have been leaked on the Internet illegally.
The company, which has jealously guarded its source code for years, said that it is investigating the situation in conjunction with law enforcement authorities. Microsoft did not speculate about the source of the attacks, but did say the leaks were not the result of any breach of its corporate network or internal security.
Details of the code that have been leaked are still unclear.
Several analysts say access to the source code could allow hackers to exploit potential vulnerabilities in Windows operating systems. Other analysts says the leak will be most useful to Microsoft’s rivals, helping them better understand the inner workings of Microsoft technology.
According to mi2g Intelligence Unit (mi2g.net), a digital risk firm, an important ramification of the source code leak is the effect it will have on Microsoft’s credibility in the eyes of programmers, governments and corporations, who may see the leak as another reason to migrate to Linux or open source solutions.
