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I've worked at companies that store all their source code in private github repos. And I think - is github impossible to hack? Will the day come when github i

I've worked at companies that store all their source code in private github repos. And I think - is github impossible to hack? Will the day come when github is wide open and all that secret source gets drained out?

bob1029 3y ago
I posted about this a week or so ago. Someone could come steal all of our "secret source" and still have absolutely no advantage over us. If the value of your business is entirely in the source code, you need to seriously re-investigate what exactly it is that you are doing. AAA gaming and Windows codebases have been leaked. In some cases partially, in others comprehensively. At no point do I recall Valve or Microsoft seeing adverse competition or other meaningful impact from this event. Legal teams were certainly up in arms, but in terms that investors would care about nothing really happens. Turns out, you need more than source code to run a business. You need customers, markets & relationships. You need trust. You need a sales team. That's the real thing you should be worried about being stolen. Your goddamn sales team. Obviously the developers would be worried about the code base (and they should be) but at scale it's not the end of the world if some code gets out. Losing your best sales person & all their prospects would be much more catastrophic for your business.
- hungryforcodes 3y ago
  These are well established business with deeply developed ecosystems (monopolies?) and market traction behind them. Smaller players, especially threats to OpenAI and whoever else could easily get squashed in such a scenario.
- not_alexb 3y ago
  Yeah, it totally makes sense to compare gigantic companies to all other ones. Let's also extrapolate what should happen to a subcompact in a collision by looking at what happens to a tank in those same circumstances.
- denton-scratch 3y ago
  > If the value of your business is entirely in the source code, you need to seriously re-investigate what exactly it is that you are doing. Most software companies' "value" (liquidatable assets) depend almost exclusively on their IP, as embodied in their patent portfolio and their source-code. Their people may be more valuable, but people can't be traded or used as collateral.
- andrewstuart 3y ago
  I think hedge funds would be a little uncomfortable with their source code being leaked. It’s also a security risk having your source code leaked.
- bunga-bunga 3y ago
  You’re simplifying this to infinity. Coca Cola’s empire surely isn’t dependent on Coke’s recipe, yet they’re still keeping it a secret. Same goes for the vast majority of for-profit organizations who do not want their core product’s recipe exposed, for a variety of reasons.
madeofpalk 3y ago
Nothing is impossible to hack - I don't think GitHub themselves would agree that it's impossible to hack. But not using Github, and having your own git hosting also doesn't make it impossible to hack.
Goronmon 3y ago
And I think - is github impossible to hack? I think it's a more "How much will it cost to host repositories that are at less of a risk than GitHub".

bob1029 3y ago

I posted about this a week or so ago. Someone could come steal all of our "secret source" and still have absolutely no advantage over us. If the value of your business is entirely in the source code, you need to seriously re-investigate what exactly it is that you are doing. AAA gaming and Windows codebases have been leaked. In some cases partially, in others comprehensively. At no point do I recall Valve or Microsoft seeing adverse competition or other meaningful impact from this event. Legal teams were certainly up in arms, but in terms that investors would care about nothing really happens. Turns out, you need more than source code to run a business. You need customers, markets & relationships. You need trust. You need a sales team. That's the real thing you should be worried about being stolen. Your goddamn sales team. Obviously the developers would be worried about the code base (and they should be) but at scale it's not the end of the world if some code gets out. Losing your best sales person & all their prospects would be much more catastrophic for your business.

hungryforcodes 3y ago
These are well established business with deeply developed ecosystems (monopolies?) and market traction behind them. Smaller players, especially threats to OpenAI and whoever else could easily get squashed in such a scenario.
not_alexb 3y ago
Yeah, it totally makes sense to compare gigantic companies to all other ones. Let's also extrapolate what should happen to a subcompact in a collision by looking at what happens to a tank in those same circumstances.
denton-scratch 3y ago
> If the value of your business is entirely in the source code, you need to seriously re-investigate what exactly it is that you are doing. Most software companies' "value" (liquidatable assets) depend almost exclusively on their IP, as embodied in their patent portfolio and their source-code. Their people may be more valuable, but people can't be traded or used as collateral.
andrewstuart 3y ago
I think hedge funds would be a little uncomfortable with their source code being leaked. It’s also a security risk having your source code leaked.
bunga-bunga 3y ago
You’re simplifying this to infinity. Coca Cola’s empire surely isn’t dependent on Coke’s recipe, yet they’re still keeping it a secret. Same goes for the vast majority of for-profit organizations who do not want their core product’s recipe exposed, for a variety of reasons.

madeofpalk 3y ago

Nothing is impossible to hack - I don't think GitHub themselves would agree that it's impossible to hack. But not using Github, and having your own git hosting also doesn't make it impossible to hack.

Goronmon 3y ago

And I think - is github impossible to hack? I think it's a more "How much will it cost to host repositories that are at less of a risk than GitHub".