A security technique to reduce the risk of unauthorized release of a software object. The technique allows identification of an individual responsible for the unauthorized release by marking each object with information, which acts as a fingerprint from which a person manipulating the object in a development environment can be identified. The development environment may be configured to quickly and automatically mark the object whenever a manipulation that may precede an unauthorized release occurs. To prevent circumventing the security technique, the object may be configured to enforce a requirement for a valid fingerprint such that the object is disabled if the fingerprint is removed or altered. Despite the marking, personally identifiable information is not revealed because the fingerprint is generated through a one-way cryptographic function performed on identifying information.