Russia First Country to View Windows Source Code

Microsoft announced this week that Russia will be the first country to view the Windows source code under a plan the company revealed earlier this month called the Government Security Program (GSP). The program gives governments access to the source code for Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000. Countries that view the source code can't change it, but they can use the information to determine the system's security and help build their own secure applications that run on Windows.

"Russia is the first country to sign such an agreement with us, but it will not be the only one," said Olga Dergunova, managing director of Microsoft's Moscow office. "Russia's chief demand was to get access to Microsoft's full code, with no omissions," said Yevgeny Karavayeshnikov, who heads Russia's state intelligence and surveillance agency.

Microsoft says that Russia will receive the first portions of more than 30 million lines of code in early February. To gain access, the country had to agree not to disclose the code or any information about the code. Countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense alliance will likely be among the next government groups to access the Windows source code.