An online shop that was selling the source code for two computer programs has abruptly suspended its operations, citing a "redesign" of its "business model."
The Source Code Club opened its doors on Monday, using an e-mail posting to an online discussion group to advertise the availability of source code and design documents for two products: the Dragon intrusion detection system (IDS) software from Enterasys Networks Inc. and peer-to-peer (P-to-P) server and client software from Napster LLC, now owned by Roxio Inc. By Thursday, the group's Web page displayed a message saying the Club had ceased operations due to "fears our customers faced."
The group used a Web page with an address in the Ukraine to advertise its wares, saying it was selling "corporate intel(ligence)" to its customers, along with other, unnamed, services, according to a message posted to the Full-Disclosure mailing list by a group or individual using the name "Larry Hobbles."
The group offered the Enterasys Dragon IDS 6.1 source code for US$16,000 and the Napster code for $10,000, according Kevin Flanagan , an Enterasys spokesman.
On Thursday, the Club's Web site was renamed the "former SCC page," with the group saying it plans to re-emerge, but that it needed to change its business model to ease customers' fears.
"Selling corporate secrets is ... very tricky, and we believe it is an area that we can conquer," the statement read.
Enterasys is working with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate the Club's claims, but company representatives are still not convinced that its product source code was stolen, Flanagan said.
Even if the theft did occur, the company is confident that the code was obtained from "media" such as a computer hard drive or CD, rather than the company's network, Flanagan said.
That opinion is based on a structural analysis of the source code files exhibited on the Club's Web site, he said.
Flanagan could not say how media containing the source code might have leaked, citing an ongoing criminal investigation, but said it was theoretically possible a company developer copied it onto a CD or other portable media "for convenience," even though the company prohibits such copying.
Dragon IDS 6.1 is around one year old, and customers who upgraded to Versions 6.2 and 6.3 were protected, because significant differences in the later versions make it difficult to carry out attacks on the upgrades using the 6.1 code as a model, he said.
Enterasys did not contact "Larry Hobbles" or the Source Code Club. Instead, the company turned directly to law enforcement, Flanagan said.
He declined to speculate on why the Web page was offline, saying only that "people who are doing overtly illegal things have lots of reasons to disappear."
The company will continue to pursue the source code theft, as well as any Source Code Customers who want to benefit from the alleged theft, he said.
Enterasys and Roxio are just the latest companies to contend with the alleged theft of intellectual property from shadowy online criminals.
In May, Cisco Systems Inc. confirmed that it was working with the FBI to investigate source code file thefts from the company's Internetwork Operating System (IOS) after IOS source code files were posted on a Russian Web site, a small piece of what was said to be more than 800 megabytes of code.
In February, Microsoft Corp. said it was investigating a source code leak from the Windows NT and Windows 2000 operating systems to P-to-P file sharing networks.
Get the independent advice and expertise you need to support a virtual workforce.
The increase in Linux popularity has increased the frequency and sophistication of malware attacks. Read this 2 page white paper now to learn how you can protect your Linux environment with real-time protection that is certified by all major Linux vendors.
Download now »
Ensuring acceptable application delivery will become even more difficult over the next few years. As a result, IT organizations need to ensure that the approach that they take to resolving the current application delivery challenges can scale to support the emerging challenges. This handbook elaborates on the key tasks associated with planning, optimization, management and control and provides decision criteria to help IT organizations choose appropriate solutions.
Download now »
A common misconception is that mid-range storage requirements are dramatically different than that of a larger enterprise. Mid-range storage users may require less capacity, but they have similar functionality and management requirements. This ESG paper examines mid-range storage needs and reviews a new solution that adjusts size while retaining value, performance and functionality.
Download now »
Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts
This white paper provides guidance on how to develop a strategic approach to managing and monitoring logs, a key function required for compliance with many regulatory mandates and a critical defense against security threats.
Download now! »
Learn about the processes and technologies that support security information management (SIM) operations, as well as the business case for SIM. The series examines different options for implementing SIM and gives you evaluation criteria for selecting the best option for your organization.
Download now! »
Learn the strategies, actions, and capabilities that Best-in-Class organizations employ and technologies they choose to obtain superior performance against various security performance metrics. This report provides guidelines for identifying which security solutions to consume as a MSS and defines best practices for choosing and managing MSSPs.
Download now! »
Recommend This
