The Windows 2000 source code that was leaked to the Internet originated from a Microsoft partner and not the software giant itself, according to the BetaNews.com Web site.

In addition, the NTBugtraq Web site is reporting that the Windows NT code leak includes all of NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 and its more than 27,000 files. The code does not include Internet Information Server.

BetaNews, a Windows-focused Web site, reported that the Windows 2000 code in the leaked archive was licensed to Mainsoft, which develops tools that allow developers to port Windows applications to Unix. In an ironic twist, the code, which was for Windows 2000 Service Pack 1, allegedly was removed from a Linux computer used by Mainsoft for development, according to the story.

“All the NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 code is out there now,” says Russ Cooper moderator of the NTBugtraq Web site and surgeon general for security firm TruSecure. But he does not think that it represents a monumental security risk.

“People have been hammering on NT, and I don’t think the source codes means that people will find more vulnerabilities. There are 27,000 files. Where do you start and what year do you plan to finish? And it is SP3, not 6a,” says Cooper.

In fact, Cooper says the source code leaks don’t represent any significant new risk. He says his only concern might be the PKI module that was leaked in the Windows 2000 code. “There, people may find more ways to break the trust model,” he says.

Cooper says network administrators should be “as vigilant as you’ve always been; this is not a new risk you have to address.”

A Microsoft spokesperson would not comment on the BetaNews report on Mainsoft because Microsoft is conducting an ongoing investigation. The investigation includes the FBI. She says partner Mainsoft is not a part of the Shared Source Initiative, which makes portions of source code available to customers, partners and governments.

“It is important to note that this leak is not a result of a breach in Microsoft’s network, security or Shared Source Initiative,” says Stacy Drake, a Microsoft corporate public relations manager.

Mainsoft officials say they are cooperating fully with Microsoft and all authorities in the investigation, but would not confirm if the code leak was linked to them or if they are a member of the Shared Source Initiative.