Firm Says University Stole Passwords

The FBI is investigating allegations that the nation’s largest for-profit university stole trade secrets from its former software provider and gave privileged access to a competing software company.

Chariot Software Group of San Diego alleges that top-level administrators at University of Phoenix supplied passwords for Chariot’s software to another company, which mimicked Chariot’s designs and used its servers to maintain the university’s online testing system.

No charges had been filed as of Monday, said Jan Caldwell, a special agent with the FBI’s San Diego office. Caldwell said the investigation is “pretty much concluded.”

Chariot began contracting with the university, a subsidiary of Phoenix-based Apollo Group Inc., in 1997. The university switched to Momentum Technologies to maintain the testing system after August 2002.

George Madden, Chariot’s chief operating officer, said computer system logs show that beginning in April 2002 Momentum’s computers accessed Chariot’s server.

Phoenix-based Momentum Technologies, renamed Veleo Inc., did not return calls Monday seeking comment.

Apollo Chief Financial Officer Kenda Gonzales said Apollo has not been contacted by the FBI. She denied that Apollo or the university had any access to Chariot’s source code.