Part of Microsoft's 'crown jewels' hits the Net

[Daniel F. Administrators]

Microsoft confirmed late Thursday that some of the source code for its flagship Windows operating system was leaked onto the Internet.

The company said that portions of the code for Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0 were made available. "It's illegal for third parties to post Microsoft source code, and we take such activity very seriously," the company said in a statement.

"We are currently investigating these postings and are working with the appropriate law enforcement authorities," the company said.

Microsoft added that the leak did not appear to be a breach of Microsoft's corporate network or its internal security.

News of the leak spread quickly Thursday on Neowin.net and other IT community Web sites.

Several experts said that the breach was more of an embarrassment than anything else. "Having source code put on the Web is indicative of some trusted partner that Microsoft had that was doing something improper," said Rob Enderle, principal at the Enderle Group, San Jose, Calif.

But embarrassing doesn't mean harmful, he said: "With that security cloud hanging over Microsoft already, this doesn't help any, but as far as any lengthy damage caused, I'd say no."

Only a matter of time

Steve Kleynhans, a vice president with Stamford, Conn.-based Meta Group, said that, because Microsoft has allowed selected governments and corporations to see its source code over the past year as part of its "">shared source initiative," it was only a matter of time before the Windows code made its way into the open.

"Even if didn't happen now, it will happen some day," Kleynhans said Thursday night before Microsoft confirmed the leak. "The more people who see the code, the greater the chance it's going to slip out."

He too downplayed the significance of the leak.

"Just because you get a copy of the code, it doesn't mean you can make your own Windows," he said. "It's not like some competitor is going to clone Windows and suddenly put Microsoft out of business."

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