Cisco Probes Possible Source-Code Theft

"Cisco is aware that a potential compromise of its proprietary information occurred and was reported on a public Web site just prior to the weekend. Cisco is fully investigating what happened," the company says in a statement.

"As a matter of policy, we take security very seriously, and we continue to take every measure to protect our intellectual property, employee and customer information. Cisco will remain focused on its customers and their success and will continue to monitor the situation."

IOS Code May Be Compromised

No further details were provided by Cisco, although several news organizations reported that SecurityLab said hackers infiltrated the company's corporate network and stole some 800 MB of source code for IOS 12.3 and 12.3t.

IOS 12.3 is the latest iteration of a massive program that operates an array of the company's products, which dominate the networking industry. Internet users are touched by services that operate over a plethora of systems built on Cisco routers and switches.

Intense Scrutiny

The company has been under intense scrutiny lately because of holes in some of its systems. The latest series of flaws includes a vulnerability discovered in TCP, or the transmission control protocol, which could let an intruder take down pieces of the Internet with a denial-of-service attack.

Cisco also has acknowledged that its VPN is vulnerable to break-ins by hackers who have acquired password and login information. And a VPN module has been identified as vulnerable to denial-of-service attacks.

Source: News Factor