Spanish firm raided in logic-bomb backdoor probe
Auto-fail programming alleged
Agentless Backup is Not a Myth
Three managers at an unnamed Spanish software developer have been arrested over allegations they planted 'logic bombs' in software that meant clients were obliged to pay for disruptive repairs and extended maintenance contracts.
The Guardia Civil said that more than 1,000 clients of the Andalucia-based developer were affected by the scam since 1998. The unnamed firm sold marketed custom software to small and medium-sized businesses with built-in errors such that it was guaranteed to fail at a predetermined date.
These errors would "paralyse the normal functioning of businesses" and oblige customers to contact their supplier, who would hit them for repair fees and extended support. In the course of making repairs, the developer allegedly programmed systems to fail again at a future date.
An anonymous web-based tip-off led to a Guardia Civil investigation and a subsequent raid on the firm's premises, where computer equipment and records were seized for analysis. The investigation - codenamed Operation Cordoba - is been led by the Guardia Civil's hi-tech division in cooperation with local police in Cordoba, Spanish daily El Pais adds. ®
COMMENTS
logic bomb or license expired?
not sure if they were logic bombs or expired licenses. From the (Google translated) description it looks to me more like they were expired licenses, left to lapse way past the expiration warning point, causing the software to refuse to function and require a license and contract renewal.
Seems the license expiration caught some self-important douche by surprise and this one called the police when they saw that the software refuses to work and shows a message asking to contact the company and renew the contract. They should have called IT and accounting departments to renew the license or choose a different software from the beginning.
Norton Antivirus, BitDefender and a lot of other software (not only antivirus) behaves this way by design, requires you to pay more money for continued usage of the software. Still, I haven't heard anybody calling the cops when their Norton/BitDefender (subscription that needs to be renewed yearly) asks for more money after a year of usage.
and about fake antiviruses... those are another story.
Dont do this to business or you will get in trouble..
Stick to doing it to consumers like sony does.
oh the irony
I'm liking the fact that next to this article is an ad for Microsoft... oh how I have wondered...
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