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Third Party Code Review?
An Anonymous Coward asks: "It looks like our sale-person is about to land a big contract with a very large US Bank, however there is a large catch in that the bank is demanding that we let them do a full audit on the source code of the software application we are selling them. After the recent rash of identity thefts of credit card and other personal info, they now mandate that all internet facing applications that store potentially private information have to have a full source code audit. This includes software from 3rd party vendors such as my company. They want to run our Java code through some software called Fortify (we looked up the price -- around $80,000) and also do a manual analysis of the code. This software is our company's life-blood. We would be ruined if it fell into a competitor's hands. We aren't storing private information about their customer's; all of the information can be found from government county auditor web sites. I understand their point of view, but it is a very scary step for us to take. Has anyone else done this and how did it work out?"
then it sounds like you are in the business of selling disks with programs on them. in that case, you're already sunk. you need to move NOW to a model where you make your money deploying and supporting software.
show them the bleeding source code, you pansy.
This is why your company has lawyers.
Handing over the source code should be part and parcel of any non-retail software package. Like Free Software, but without all the philosophical bullshit.
Get the bank to sign an NDA, and sue the pants off of them if they leak your source.
After all, I am strangely colored.
You'll sue. You'll win. You'll be fine. Your competitor will be ruined. The person who leaked the code will be ruined.
As for the use of a $80k code audit tool. If the bank's paying for it, that's how it's going to happen. BTW, expensive niche software companies don't always like it when their quotes become public knowledge. Companies like that often try to guess what each customer is willing to pay, within reason.
I was almost sympathetic until I re-read:
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very large US bank
What, pray tell did you expect? It looks as though you blundered into a pot of gold and kept going despite the fact that you're not large enough yet to carry it away.
Of course they'd demand third party review. I hope *my* bank would! What I also don't see mentioned is any mention of a three inch NDA that would be signed.
Established companies like Microsoft can sell stuff with some (or all) of the hood welded shut. They are an authority. They dictate who our browsers trust. They're huge and they could afford to pay for resulting damages (good luck pinning any on them
If you really want to use this as a spring board I'd let them have at the code. Unless you're in the middle of an "Oh SHIT we gotta re-code all that GPL stuff we used
Why would you worry if there wasn't anything to worry about? And why risk your "life's blood" on one single venture?
Order happy meal first. Big mac later.
Off my soapbox.
Non Disclosure Agreements and Really Good Lawyers, that's what it's all about. And if you think it's too much of a risk, just turn the job down. Big fat contracts are look appealing when they arrive on your doorstep, but if they come with massive provisions which are too risky for your business then don't be scared in turning them down. Especially when it's your business, your life and your way of thinking/sanity which is exposed.
Of course, there is the bargaining position of if they are really in need of your software, then you could be in a good position to strike up a trust and maybe negotiate your way out of being audited.
I've done a few defence contracts where they've demanded the same type of auditing, and in a few I've managed to get out of the auditing process for non-mission-critical systems by negotiation.
Task Mangler
That's how the mainframe COBOL guys used to work; they put the source up on the really big bank's mainframe and work with the banks systems people to compile it and customize it. I've worked for two companies that followed that model and let me tell you, it is really really lucrative. It is ingrained in some really big banks' cultures, be it a holdover from the true "big iron" days, but so are the wonderful amounts that you are expected to charge them. Now, you and I realize that times have changed a bit, but many banks still call it DP, not IT and consider this; once you are in, they begin to build systems and protocols around your software. Before it even goes live, they will have their technical writers creating binders just for interoperation with your system. Your software becomes part of the machine. Do you have any idea how expensive it is after a couple of years to rip all of that out and start over? Like others have said, get a good non-disclosure written by pit bull lawyers and laugh all the way to the bank. Just take care of them (the banks decision makers) by doing a good job and catering to their whims (and charging them for it) and they will take care of you.
The whole Sarbanes-Oxley regulations really leave the bank (or any financial institution) with little choice; they are legally required to guarantee the security and accountability of their systems, without being able to audit your code, they cannot give such guarantee and thus cannot use your system whilst still following Sarbanes-Oxley regulations.
So you've only got two choices: "Let them audit the code" or "Lose a customer".
FYI, I work as a programmer at a bank.
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I work for a lab that does seurity reviews and evaluations. There are a few things you might want to consider:
http://erichsieht.wordpress.com/category/english/