Begin forwarded message: > From: "Gregg Shankle" <Gregg.Shankle@private> > Date: May 17, 2004 10:18:53 AM PDT > To: "Gregg Shankle" <Gregg.Shankle@private> > Subject: High read - FYI unconfirmed information - Cyber Infrastructure > > Subject: [ISN] Cisco Source Code Reportedly Stolen > > > http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1593870,00.asp > > By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols > May 17, 2004 > > Russian security Web site SecurityLab is reporting that the source > code for Cisco Systems Inc.'s main networking device operating system > was stolen on Thursday. > > According to the report, criminal hackers broke into Cisco's corporate > > network and stole 800MB of source code for IOS 12.3 and 12.3t (an > early deployment version containing features not found in the vanilla > 12.3 version). In addition, a 2.5MB sample of what is supposedly IOS > code was released on an Internet Relay Chat channel as proof of the > alleged theft. > > IOS 12.3 is the newest main version of San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco's > popular operating system. It's used across the company's networking > line, including in home office routers (the 800 Series); those for > branch offices (the 3700 Series); and those that comprise the Internet > > backbone (the 7000 Series). Other routers that use the operating > system include the 1700, 2500, 2600 and 3600 Series. > > eWEEK.com was unable to reach Cisco to confirm the break-in and code > theft. > > If the report is accurate, this represents a major security threat not > > just for Cisco users, but for the entire Internet. According to the > Dell'Oro Group, a market research firm that specializes in the > networking and telecommunications industries, Cisco owns 62 percent of > > the core router market. > > With the proprietary source code in hand, criminal hackers could, in > theory, create programs that could cause denial-of-service attacks in > Cisco-based networks. > > A previous major source code theft of parts of Microsoft's NT 4.0 and > Windows 2000 has not led to any security violations. However the > alleged theft of the Cisco source code, since it's both the most > current edition and all of the code, has the potential to be more > damaging. > > > > end >
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