The source code for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and other Microsoft operating systems have been published online this week.
The OS sources were leaked online as a 42.9 GB torrent file on 4chan, an online message board often frequented by trolls and extremist groups.
The content of this torrent file includes source code for several of Microsoft's older operating systems, such as Windows 2000, Embedded (CE 3, CE 4, CE 5, CE, 7), Windows NT (3.5 and 4), XP, and Server 2003.
The files also contained the source code of the first Xbox operating system, MS-DOS (3.30 and 6), and the source code for various Windows 10 components.
While Microsoft hasn't confirmed the leak yet, several Windows experts who analyzed the files said they appeared to be legitimate, but also played down the importance of the leak.
Many of the files leaked this week have actually leaked years before, and the leak appears to be a collection of previous items.
For example, the source code of some Windows 10 components leaked online in 2017[1] while the Xbox and Windows NT files leaked earlier this year[2]. Other leaks are even older and trace back to discussions on mailing lists and forums dating back to the early 2010s.
The only new items that appear to have been leaked this week are the source code for Windows XP, Server 2003, and Windows 2000.
The leaker claims that many of the OS source code packages have been hoarded and exchanged in private by data brokers.
IT experts have told ZDNet that the source code of such operating systems was never fully private, but merely proprietary. They also believe the files leaked from academia.
Microsoft has historically provided access to the source code of its operating systems to governments across the