Looks like software piracy will always get you in the end.
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/techn...457276,00.html
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Looks like software piracy will always get you in the end.
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/techn...457276,00.html
Busted!!!!! Big time. What goes around, will come around and bite you in the azz*. That sucks for "Foundstone." Great read the horse, thankyou!Quote:
"They've stolen pretty much everything when it comes to software," says a founding employee who asked not to be named. The company even cracked Microsoft's operating system, Windows XP, says Dan Kuykendall, a former Foundstone software engineer, "
Cya
that would explain all their "hacking exposed" books!!! didn't they have another lawsuit with fire & ice stuff???
-w0rm3y
wow that is unreal that a company that makes that much money would do something like that.
I found the article interesting, but I also reserve my opinion of the company or its executives. I heard something a long time ago about "innocent until proven guilty". It sounded nice enough so I thought I'd adopt it as a philosophy. I am hoping the rest of America- especially the press and the legal system- soon start to follow this philosophy.
Sadly, it is not the law enforcement or software police that get you though. It is usually a whistle blower that the company has pissed off. The whistle blower had no moral or ethical qualms about using the software as long as he was benefiting from it. Once that person is disgruntled or gets fired though they think its an easy way to retaliate against the company by turning them in. The whistle blower is just as guilty for installing and using the software and should probably be included in any punitive actions.
The source of these allegations and most of the bad press are ex-employees or disgruntled employees so their views may be biased. That said, I think way more companies than care to admit it have software in use that they are fully aware is not licensed.
We'll see how this plays out, but I think more people need to read both sides of the story and assume the truth is somewhere in the middle. If a surprise audit were conducted at most companies I think you would find illegal software installed. Have you not installed shareware without paying for it (how many of you have cut a check for Winzip?)? Have you changed your system date to use trial software longer than allowed? Have you copied software from a friend? Have you bought one copy of a game or application and installed it on more than one computer in your home?
I am not implying that everyone else's guilt makes Foundstone less guilty if they are in fact doing what they are accused of doing. I'm just saying there is an awful lot of stone-throwing going on for such a fragile glass house.
I don't want the chat to turn into an interrogation or a roasting session, but George Kurtz and Stuart McClure will be on my site from 8pm to 10pm tonight. I would like to keep things civil and focused on the books or information security in general though and not on Foundstone's legal woes.
Awesome read, thehorse13, thanks...
DeadAddict made the comment that its hard to believe that a company that makes as much money as Foundstone does would be involved in software piracy, but I don't find that hard to believe at all. When you get right down to it, I'm sure there are a lot of corporations that are involved in such activities, probably some that bring in large amounts of revenues. You'd hope that a corporation with the financial resources to be completely compliant with their licensing would take the responsibility and do so, but I'd say that's not always the case.
If all of this is true, then Foundstone is in for some rough times..
I can't remember *ever* working for a company where I haven't found mounds of license violations or outright pirated software. All that happened here is that some ex-employees shined the flashlight on FoundStone and the media ate it up.
It will be fun to watch this one!! My guess is that this may play out like the ENRON scandel if enough people pay attention. You'll start seeing other well known companies coming under fire for software piracy.
Agreed.Quote:
I can't remember *ever* working for a company where I haven't found mounds of license violations or outright pirated software.
In some cases it may be a result of warped and illogical licensing schemes that require a certification or PhD just to keep up with. At an enterprise level it is often difficult to follow the various voodoo and calculus formulas involved in determining how many licenses you are supposed to purchase and what the rules of engagement are for the legal use of those licenses.
Excuses, excuses. Ya know there are companies that specialize in making sure your licensing is up to spec. It doesn't take a rocket scientistto figure out you've got a large enough company that you need some help with licensing, does it?
And you can't blame ANY employees for blowing the whistle, it's not their responsibility to license the software, it's the companies. It's also the companies responsibility to ensure that there aren't any users uploading unlicensed software and trying to hide it.
It is difficult also in many companies to just keep up with the licenses and mistakes are very easily made. MS is now using online licenses for things such as site licenses. It is very hard to keep up with whether it is suppose to be on online license and where the licenses should be maintained.
KorpDeath is right there isn't an excuse for pirated software.... but I blame the software companies themselves.... :D j/k.... but when you think about it they wouldn't have pirated software if they went open source, or even just freeware. Anyways...... pirated software is everywhere.... It's no different than MP3s.... It's stolen intellectual property. Hell I know a cop whom I used to do computer work for, he had MP3s and pirated software. Everyone does it..... and I think that the actions of the masses make it acceptable, it's not something any one of us can look down on. Everyone member of AO has pirated software or MP3s on their computer. My HS when we needed software we had to get it ourselves. Many times I had faculty members come up and say hey I need this software for my class, can you find it for me, or I only have the demo can you find me a crack. We all get mad when RIAA and the MPAA crank down on people for MP3s, but then people turn around at get mad at people for having pirated software...wake up people. it's the same difference. I think they should go in and check the personal computers of the whistleblowers.. I bet their home computers are full of illegal things (Movies, MP3s and software).
That's right! I know of a guy (I will not name names) has a nice ISP, makes plenty of money, and is HEAVILY involved in piracy. Not just the softlifting, but redistributing the software, downloading pirated software from P2P, selling OEM software without hardware, loading pirated software on people's PC when repairing/selling them, and even goes to China to see his wifes' family and comes back with literally armloads of pirated stuff to trade and sell. He even has a private FTP server with loads of crap on it, and more than one person is involved.Quote:
I can't remember *ever* working for a company where I haven't found mounds of license violations or outright pirated software. All that happened here is that some ex-employees shined the flashlight on FoundStone and the media ate it up.
Yes, many "get away with it" but I am waiting for the day he gets seriously busted. The thing is, all it takes is ONE person to report you... a customer, a disgruntled employee, anybody. I mean ther is less of a chance of getting caught if you use it on your own, but to own a shop and a big network and outright deal in the **** is like waving a red flag and tooing a horn "I AM A PIRATE. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN"
Jack
I think Foundstones plight may be made worse by the fact that you used to actually be able to download "tools" from their web site which in effect turned their web site into a Warez site, not the best of things to do if you are a professional company (or at least trying to be one). The "tools" section contained just about any software you could want.
Several people I know used to work for E&Y and worked with the foundstone guys and all voiced similar criticisms to those mentioned i.e. that the foundstone courses were a duplicate of the E&Y ones.
Too bad. They put out a great book.