rbutler@YUMA-EMH1.ARMY.MIL (Robert Butler) (11/15/88)
The amount of email coming out on this list is very encouraging. More `listeners' than ever are sticking their opinions out for possible ridicule or even agreement. What I'm hearing is a lot of protectionism for a programmer. Like we need more of his quality to keep the paranoid security wraps on this middle-aged Internet. Does anyone think `wormer' will get his hands slapped, providing the allegations are true?. Regardless of his/her intent there were over six thousand computers infected and many sub-networks were shut-down just because the infection was loose. The cost to Internet alone will be in the millions of dollars figure (all those leased lines). Then add in all the lost computer time for another hundreds of millions of dollars figure. Whew, the national debt appears to be shrinking next to `the mistake' whether intended or not. We do not have enough money now without having to pay the tab on this fiasco. What will this do to the budget deficit we are living with?. Now what?. Did we learn enough to pay for (non-budgeted) expended dollars?. My opinion is NO, because I'm smart enough to know that I could lose my ability to make a living by pulling such a trick, And I do not have a relative in high Government that would bail me out. What ever happend to "Integrity"?. I have a personal integrity that will not allow me to do what was done. I do believe that I know right from wrong and I will not do wrong, by conscious choice. Simplistic hey!. Integrity! what does it mean in todays society. Well, what I'm hearing is: if he/she is brilliant, nice, easy going, helpful and just accidently costs me a years salary, lets just slap their hand, especially if their father is the judge. Lets not get angry and exact retribution, really they will learn their lesson and do it again. I'm not willing to pay the bill, dammit. What would a drug dealer do if someone cost him several hundreds of dollars, intended or accidentally?. I guarantee that he will make an example for others that that is not acceptable behavior. Is this the type of mentality or attitude that we want?. Nuff said. I have my fire suit on. These are my opinions and do not reflect on anyone except ME. RBB
dji@sbcs.sunysb.edu (the dirty vicar) (11/23/88)
Robert Butler says: > What I'm hearing is a lot of protectionism for a programmer. Like we need > more of his quality to keep the paranoid security wraps on this middle-aged > Internet. Does anyone think `wormer' will get his hands slapped, providing > the allegations are true? I hope he gets more than a hand-slapping, but somehow I doubt it. On the other hand, I don't think he should be fined excessively or (certainly not) put in prison. It was not a malicious action. What then?? I don't know. Probably he should be kicked out of Cornell. Maybe a reasonable fine and public service?? > The cost to Internet alone will be in the millions of dollars figure (all > those leased lines). Then add in all the lost computer time for another > hundreds of millions of dollars figure. These figures seem completely outrageous to me. Would you like to try to justify them? > What ever happend to "Integrity"? I have a personal integrity that will not > allow me to do what was done. I do believe that I know right from wrong and I > will not do wrong, by conscious choice. Simplistic hey!. That's wonderful, so do I. But there's no use complaining about lack of integrity and morality in society, because it has pretty much always been the exception rather than the rule, and will no doubt continue to be so, and probably get worse. > What would a drug dealer do if someone cost him several hundreds of dollars, > intended or accidentally? I guarantee that he will make an example for others > that that is not acceptable behavior. Is this the type of mentality or > attitude that we want? Huh?? Do you mean the mentality of exacting retribution, or the mentality that caused the worm? In any case, what would you suggest be done to RTM?? Try to keep something in mind. The mentality that caused the worm is little more than boyish mischief. Until recently, there was not much a little pranksterism could do to cause serious wide-scale harm. But the information revolution is at hand -- the world is a far smaller place than it used to be. Society at large has yet to adjust to many of the changes that have taken place recently, and here's someone who has grown up in the computer age, knowing no other way of life. We should KEEP THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE. Computer down-time and system administrator inconvenience are not reasons to hang someone by the testicles. I won't defend him for pointing out a particular hole in UNIX, but the incident *has* brought the issue of computer security into the public conscious- ness, which is a good thing. Punish him, but don't make him out to be public enemy number one. We should be far more concerned with murderers and rapists getting off the hook. -- Dave Iannucci Computer Science, SUNY at Stony Brook, Long Island, New York /////////////// UUCP: {allegra, philabs, <arpa-gateway>}!sbcs.sunysb.edu!dji \ Beru lives! \ ARPA-Internet or CSNet: dji@sbcs.sunysb.edu /////////////// BITNET: dji%sbcs.sunysb.edu@SBCCVM.BITNET