Help A Hacker: Give ‘Em The Windows Source Code
- by Ken Cox [MVP]
The announcement of another Windows megapatch reminded me of a WikiLeaks story about Microsoft Windows that hasn’t attracted much attention.
Alarmingly, we learn that the hackers have the Windows source code to study and test for vulnerabilities. Chinese hackers used the knowledge to breach Google’s accounts and servers:
“In 2003, the CNITSEC signed a Government Security Program (GSP) international agreement with Microsoft that allowed select companies such as TOPSEC access to Microsoft source code in order to secure the Windows platform”
“CNITSEC enterprises has recruited Chinese hackers in support of nationally-funded "network attack scientific research projects." From June 2002 to March 2003, TOPSEC employed a known Chinese hacker, Lin Yong (a.k.a. Lion and owner of the Honker Union of China), as senior security service engineer…”
Windows is widely seen as unsecurable. It doesn’t help that Chinese government-funded hackers are probing the source code for vulnerabilities. It seems odd that people who didn’t write the code can find vulnerabilities faster than the owners of the code.
Perhaps the U.S. government should hire its own hackers to go over the same Windows source code and then tell Microsoft how to secure its product?
