Publicly accessible license servers are rarely hosted out of charity. Many are "honeypots" set up by malicious actors. In 2025, supply chain attacks targeting developers are at an all-time high. Connecting your IDE to a rogue server can allow attackers to intercept your traffic, execute remote code, or plant malware within your IDE plugins. 2. Intellectual Property and Data Theft
Access to your local passwords, API keys, and environment variables.
JetBrains has officially announced that the legacy will be discontinued and taken out of service on December 31, 2025 . This means that existing Docker-based or standalone server setups used for floating licenses will no longer receive maintenance or official support beyond this year. Transitioning to New License Management
Evaluating the Professional edition before committing to a purchase, or completing a short‑term project.