Major Security Hole Discovered in Microsoft's Windows NT Operating System; CMP's EE Times Exclusive Report Details Microsoft's Latest Woe

A major security flaw has been uncovered in Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) flagship network operating system, Windows NT, that could enable a user dialing in from a remote location to unscramble encrypted information -- including a corporate network's entire registry of user passwords -- and display it as plain text, according to an exclusive report posted on EE Times Online (http://www.eet.com/).

The discovery is especially troublesome for the Redmond, Wash. software giant because it has tried to position NT as more secure network server than alternatives such as Unix.

According to EE Times, a pair of professional security technologists wrote the code for the "hack" that found the flaw. The code has been verified by several experts and is making the rounds on the Internet via an mailing list frequented by skilled hackers with an interest in NT-security issues.

The potentially password-cracking code is the third major security flaw found in NT in as many months and follows recent revelations of security holes in Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser. The software giant's security technology has come under closer scrutiny by the hacking community as NT and Internet Explorer have found broader market acceptance.

Mike Nash, Microsoft's Director of Marketing for NT Server, acknowledged the security flaw to EE Times without elaborating on a possible fix.

"It's good that people are testing our products and the best thing we can do is increase the awareness about security to our customers," he said. Though presented in the mailing list as a "utility tool" for NT systems administrators, the latest hack is capable of much more.

"It's a double-edged sword," Jeremy Allison, principal author of the hack's code. "This is a useful utility for migrating users to Unix systems from Windows NT, but it can also enable people to see all the actual passwords, which until now wasn't possible."

Microsoft's Nash admitted to some of that. "In this case, it is possible to break into the system and decrypt passwords," he said. "But it requires that you have administrative privilege."

Not so according to Yobie Benjamin, Senior Consulting Architect for Emerging Technologies at Cambridge Technology Partners and co-author of the code. "All that's missing is intent. If somebody wanted to crack an NT server today, for malicious purposes or financial gain, the pieces of the puzzle are now all there."

"NT is not as safe as it had been, because of this hack," concluded Chris Goggans, Senior Networking Security Engineer at Wheelgroup Inc.

EE Times, published by CMP Media Inc., covers the high tech OEM industry. The well-respected weekly delivers news of both business and technology to engineers and technical/corporate managers at electronics and computer systems manufacturers in the United States.

CMP Media Inc. provides publishing, marketing and information services to the broad high-technology spectrum -- the builders, sellers and users of technology -- through print and electronic media. All of CMP's publications and online products can be accessed through the company's TechWeb® site on the World Wide Web (http://www.techweb.com/). Print titles include Computer Reseller News, InformationWeek and WINDOWS Magazine.

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SOURCE: CMP Media Inc.

CONTACT: Steve Rubel of CMP Corporate Communications, 516-562-7434 or
srubel@cmp.com.