diff --git a/reference.c b/reference.c
index b40ae38..9507d4e 100644
--- a/reference.c
+++ b/reference.c
@@ -336,7 +336,6 @@ REF_GetLeapMode(void)
 static void
 update_drift_file(double freq_ppm, double skew)
 {
-  struct stat buf;
   char *temp_drift_file;
   FILE *out;
   int r1, r2;
@@ -370,16 +369,6 @@ update_drift_file(double freq_ppm, double skew)
     return;
   }
 
-  /* Clone the file attributes from the existing file if there is one. */
-
-  if (!stat(drift_file,&buf)) {
-    if (chown(temp_drift_file,buf.st_uid,buf.st_gid) ||
-        chmod(temp_drift_file,buf.st_mode & 0777)) {
-      LOG(LOGS_WARN, "Could not change ownership or permissions of temporary driftfile %s.tmp",
-          drift_file);
-    }
-  }
-
   /* Rename the temporary file to the correct location (see rename(2) for details). */
 
   if (rename(temp_drift_file,drift_file)) {