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HP Enterprise Let Russia Scrutinize The Pentagon's Cyberdefense Software (reuters.com)
"A Russian defense agency was allowed to review the cyberdefense software used by the Pentagon to protect its computer networks," writes new submitter quonset. "This according to Russian regulatory records and interviews with people with direct knowledge of the issue." Reuters reports:
The Russian review of ArcSight's source code, the closely guarded internal instructions of the software, was part of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's effort to win the certification required to sell the product to Russia's public sector, according to the regulatory records seen by Reuters and confirmed by a company spokeswoman. Six former U.S. intelligence officials, as well as former ArcSight employees and independent security experts, said the source code review could help Moscow discover weaknesses in the software, potentially helping attackers to blind the U.S. military to a cyber attack. "It's a huge security vulnerability," said Greg Martin, a former security architect for ArcSight. "You are definitely giving inner access and potential exploits to an adversary."
It's another example of the problems security companies face when they try to do business internationally, according to Reuters. "One reason Russia requests the reviews before allowing sales to government agencies and state-run companies is to ensure that U.S. intelligence services have not placed spy tools in the software."
Long-time Slashdot reader bbsguru has his own worries. "So, opening your code for review because it is demanded by a potential customer? What could possibly go wrong? HPE may find out, and the U.S. Military is among the many clients depending on the answer."
It's another example of the problems security companies face when they try to do business internationally, according to Reuters. "One reason Russia requests the reviews before allowing sales to government agencies and state-run companies is to ensure that U.S. intelligence services have not placed spy tools in the software."
Long-time Slashdot reader bbsguru has his own worries. "So, opening your code for review because it is demanded by a potential customer? What could possibly go wrong? HPE may find out, and the U.S. Military is among the many clients depending on the answer."
Wait until they figure out who all Microsoft has shared the Windows source code with.
A good security product is secure even if attackers know how it works.
What treason? This story is utter garbage, HP weren't revealing US secrets, they were submitting their OWN software for review to win sales. Every large company does this for governments and sometimes private sector as well. Microsoft, IBM, Apple, Oracle etc etc all do this and if they didn't they would all be a fraction of the size they are now as none of them would get international government business.
You mean like the network connected smart HP photocopy/scanning machine that are almost everywhere in Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and FedEx Offices (formerly Kinkos).
Russians having access to that would be some sweet revenge. After all, we used Xerox copiers and Xerox maintenance people to keep copies of all the documents Russian government officials photocopied for years.
"The capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them."
V.I Lenin
At the end of the day they'll sit down with their fellow global citizens and hash it all out.
I doubt it. They'd never be able to agree upon who among them should rule the world. Human history is full of those able and willing to kill in pursuit of domination and despite all of our efforts the veneer of civilization remains thin indeed. The savage instinct is still alive and well in modern man and it doesn't take much to bring it clawing back to the surface.
Usually to the detriment of those of us still dependent on nation-states.
Power trumps wealth. Wealth can be stripped but real power is absolute and although the two are often found together they ought not to be confused. Vladimir Putin regularly strips and imprisons billionaires who displease him and kills those he cannot imprison. There's a lesson there on the limits of wealth and the utility of absolute power.
Sensationalist crap if I ever saw one.
Making a source-code review is standard operation procedure for high security settings. In fact, I recommend exactly this to some of my clients (I've worked in IS before the abbreviation had a second meaning about murderous religious idiots).
If this allowed them to discover weaknesses in the software, then maybe the US departments should've done a source-code review themselves and discovered those same weaknesses? What is wrong with the author of this crap to shout wolf because someone is doing proper security?
"omg, the Russians tested the same rifle that our army uses! Maybe they discovered at what temperature it explodes!"
Guys, you need to wake up over there before you find yourself plundged into a new Cold War by nonsense propaganda. Ask yourself who profits from such shit, who gets to sell more stuff thanks to articles like this, and who gets to gain more influence from the fear.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
Source code can contain information the binary doesn't. Like why mistakes are made and who made them, to give an example. So if there's an exploit in the binary, you find it either way. If the source code with the mistake contains comments from Sanjay at CompuGlobalHyperMegaNet in Mumbai, that tells you where else that mistake could be. If there's no mistakes in Sanjay's code, you still have a potential recruitment target. Paranoid? Yes. Unlikely? Can't say. Implausible? No.