I know several of the security professionals at Goldman, and they are among the best in the business. I have not discussed this matter with any of them, nor would I tell you what they said if I had. My reactions are solely based on what reporters have written. The aforementioned July 7th Wall Street Journal article, which is by Susanee Craig and Amir Efrati, has the title “Ex-Goldman Worker Is Arrested: FBI Alleges Computer Programmer Codes [sic.] Related to a Trading System,” and an article, which was published the same day in the New York Times, by Graham Bowley has the title “Ex-Worker Said to Steal Goldman Code.”
Both articles relate how a certain Sergey Aleynikov, who had resigned from Goldman on June 5, 2009, had downloaded 32 megabytes of data between June 1st and the day he quit. About a month later, on July 3rd, Mr. Aleynikov was arrested by the FBI for stealing the information with the intent of selling it.
In the New York Times article, Bruce Schneier is quoted as saying that Goldman’s [security] systems worked well in stopping Mr. Aleynikov and that this case “… is an example of a system and response working.” Did you really say that, Bruce? I have to assume that you know something other than that which was reported in the newspaper in which you are quoted. Incidentally, in the same article, the reporter indicates that experts believe the value of the stolen computer programs could be incalculable, whereas a certain Mr. Peter Niculescu is quoted as saying “If you have the code and not the database then it is of limited value.” OK, which is it … incredibly valuable or not very?
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