More On The Cisco Source Code Theft

The news several weeks ago that hackers had offered to sell source code for Cisco's Pix proprietary security firewall software to all takers for $24,000 sent a shiver through network administrators.

After all, if that code got into the hands of the wrong people, security holes could be found and exploited, and networks everywhere could be exceedingly vulnerable.

That fear has worried a good many of you. That's what a survey of Networking Pipeline readers found. A surprisingly high 44% of readers said that the theft may compromise their network's security. Only 24% said they were safe despite the theft. And nearly a third, 32%, hadn't heard of the theft, so couldn't comment on whether it would endanger their network.

That means that of the people who had heard of the theft, a whopping 65% worry that the theft has made them vulnerable.

Luckily, though, it's very unlikely networks will be targeted. There's no confirmation that the hackers really had their hands on the source code. And it's not very likely that the kind of people who get their jollies by breaking into networks will be willing to fork over $24,000 for the code. In fact, it's not that likely they even have $24,000 in the bank.So here's hoping that despite your fears, you won't be targeted. But use the increased spotlight on security to protect your network against more mundane threats, such as password-cracking and social engineering, which are high on the list of real dangers facing network administrators.