Microsoft's top-secret code is leaked

Windows source code is Microsoft’s crown jewel, one that is guarded jealously. The company has to know exactly what source code is shared with partners and when.

Some background: At one time, Microsoft shared portions of the Windows NT and 2000 source code with two partners working on software tools that would allow other software developed for Windows to run on Unix. If I recall correctly, the amount was 8 million or so lines of code for one operating system.

That works out about right for the size of the leak, 13.5 million lines of code, according to people who have seen it. The timing fits, too, considering the apparent age of the code and when the partners had access to it. Folks who have seen the source code told me the code date appears to be July 25, 2000, which would be about right for Windows 2000 Service Pack 1.