Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Blogs
    • Security Watch

    Say It Ain’t So, SAP

    Written by

    Lisa Vaas
    Published March 23, 2007
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      What I particularly like about Oracle’s lawsuit against SAP, wherein Oracle charges its rival with “corporate theft on a grand scale,” is that it fits in so well with the current rash of news about hijacked accounts.

      Oracle filed suit on March 22, claiming its business software rival used customers’ online access codes to steal copyrighted software. Oracle claims that SAP has gained repeated and unauthorized access to its password-protected customer support site, where Oracle claims that SAP copied thousands of copies of copyrighted Oracle software and other confidential materials onto its own servers.

      Oracle’s lawsuit maintains that SAP managed to pile up a “storehouse of stolen Oracle intellectual property,” which it used to offer cut-rate support services to Oracle customers, thereby luring them off of Oracle and onto SAP products.

      If what Oracle says is true, this is identity theft on a grand scale. It takes the current rash of consumer-based account hijackings and inflates it so it fits into the world of behemoth corporations.

      Recently, eBay users have been suffering hijacking of their accounts as hackers co-opt their names and reputations, run auctions of nonexistent goods, pocket the money, and move on. They’ve also had to endure being taunted by hackers who like to boast about how easy it is to hack eBay, and a handful of eBay customers have had their most private information posted online.

      This week, social engineering in which Microsoft support staff are being talked into handing over personal information—in violation of Microsoft’s own privacy policy, mind you.

      In the cases of both eBay and Microsoft, the corporate entity has claimed that its customers are being tricked into handing over personal information, saying users are being talked out of identity details in game-related situations, in the case of Xbox Live users, or having it phished away from them, in eBay’s case.

      These cases are difficult to analyze because they boil down to who you believe. Do you believe the astute, computer-savvy eBay user who swears he or she would never fall for a phishing scam, or do you believe eBay, which maintains that its databases have not been breached? Do you believe Microsoft when it says gamers are handing over personal information, or do you believe the accounts of the hackers themselves, who post details about how they talked Microsoft support staffers out of that information?

      As legendary forensics authority Jim Christy said to me during recent eBay reporting, it’s impossible to tell where information is coming from without physical access to a hacker’s systems for a full forensics examination.

      Oracle’s account hijacking case differs in that there appears to be a smoking gun. The lawsuit claims that SAP employees used log-in credentials of Oracle customers whose support rights had expired or were on the brink of it. Oracle says it first noticed something was up when it noticed an unusual level of activity on its systems near the end of 2006 that didn’t resemble the activity displayed by authorized access by customers. Oracle also claims that SAP downloaded an average of 1,800 items per day for four straight days using one customer’s credentials—a far cry above the average 20 downloads per customer per month.

      What could be the smoking gun is an Internet address in Texas that’s registered to SAP’s wholly owned subsidiary TomorrowNow, founded by former PeopleSoft executives. Oracle claims that the downloads originated from this site, not from that of any customer.

      Following Oracle for any amount of time engenders skepticism about its claims, to put it lightly. At the same time that SAP’s SAPPHIRE user conference was going on last May, Oracle boasted that 500 customers had selected Oracle over SAP. It turned out that at least some of those customers had been the subject of PeopleSoft case studies that Oracle inherited when it purchased that company. At the time, an Oracle spokesperson couldn’t say if any of the customers had actually migrated, although Oracle’s press release hyped its OFF SAP migration program.

      But if Oracle’s charges are in fact valid, SAP is an idiot. As BusinessWeek pointed out last March, SAP has been the winner so far in the rivalry, capitalizing on the customer uncertainty Oracle created with its long list of acquisitions. Oracle has been growing by acquisition, the article pointed out, and needs time to integrate. Judging by the stream of Oracle employees I’ve talked to recently who have jumped ship, that integration hasn’t been going too well, either—sources have told me that Oracle is choking on the Siebel acquisition, which dwarfed the PeopleSoft acquisition, even though the latter caused more agitation and legal tussling.

      SAP, on the other hand, has grown organically, as BusinessWeek has pointed out. If the German company is going to give itself a black eye through something like corporate thievery, it’s in danger of squandering some portion of the good will that it’s maintained on the part of enterprises through this bitter, longlasting rivalry with Oracle.

      Lisa Vaas
      Lisa Vaas
      Lisa Vaas is News Editor/Operations for eWEEK.com and also serves as editor of the Database topic center. She has focused on customer relationship management technology, IT salaries and careers, effects of the H1-B visa on the technology workforce, wireless technology, security, and, most recently, databases and the technologies that touch upon them. Her articles have appeared in eWEEK's print edition, on eWEEK.com, and in the startup IT magazine PC Connection.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×