Chicago, May 19: Some of the software code that Cisco Systems uses to run its gear that directs internet traffic may have been stolen, the company said on Monday, adding it was investigating. “Cisco is aware that a potential compromise of its proprietary information occurred and was reported on a public website,” said a statement from the world’s largest maker of internet equipment. “The Cisco Information Security team is looking into this matter and investigating.” A spokeswoman for the San Jose, California-based company would not say whether or how much of its code may have been stolen. Source code, the underlying blueprint of computer software, determines how programmes work. Companies like Cisco and Microsoft zealously guard their source code because they consider it the lifeblood of their business. Numerous versions exist of Cisco’s Internetworking Operating System (IOS). That means a theft may not affect all of its gear. Some industry officials said the damage to Cisco would be limited and the possible theft was more an embarrassment than anything else. Cisco’s stock closed off 31 cents, or 1.5%, at $20.93 in trading on Nasdaq. A Russian website reported on Saturday that the code was stolen from Cisco’s corporate network, with some leaked onto the internet, according to industry website LightReading.com. The Russian site estimated about 800 megabytes of source code was taken, LightReading said. Bureau Report