I'm going to put on my Nostradamus had for a moment and see if I can guess at SOE's intentions towards ShowEQ.
Everything I say here is purely guess work, and may or may not be true.
1. SOE decides to make a definitive move to disable ShowEQ, knowing full well that SEQ can move to a memory reader based method to grab the key.
2. SOE goes ahead with the move, disabling SEQ in it's current passive state.
3. SOE sits and watches the different generations of sniffer programs take form, making note of common parts and disseperate parts.
4. SOE impliments a reporting system that catches the most common sniffers. Identifies how many SEQ people are using sniffers that are common.
5. SOE notes the accounts, but lets people keep playing. Players and users of SEQ grow complacent, thinking that SOE can not detect them.
6. SOE has oodles of data on who's using SEQ, and start mass bannings, trying to terrorize the rest they can not catch into abandoning ShowEQ.
7. Depending on the outcome of line 6, Verant realizes that the terror campaign does not work and starts work on protecting the key in memory.
8. Depending on whether work on protecting the key is sucessful or not, if not, they begin work on guerilla maneuvers to thwart the updates of ShowEQ. This continues until the ROI is not present.
I'll add and change this as time goes on.