jmolini@nasamail.nasa.gov (JAMES E. MOLINI) (02/11/90)
I have recently seen quite a bit of rhetoric about the possibility of copyrighting virus code and thereby reducing the chance that some innocent dolt would play with it and start an epidemic. Although I can easily believe the scenario, I can't accept the recommended deterrent. In particular, Olivier M.J. Crepin-Leblond appears to think that just having the code is inherently dangerous and therefore should be tightly controlled. While I agree that there is not much to be done with virus writers (aside from removing body parts), I cannot believe that legislating virus code will provide any real benefit for the rest of us. Let's examine a similar situation. How many of you reading this bulletin think that you know how to stick up a liquor store? If you don't know how, you will after watching a couple episodes from "Cagney & Lacey" or some other appropriate American Police show. So as long as you know how, what prevents you from trying it the next time you are a little short on cash? If you live in Europe you might say that "It's just not done." We here in the U.S., however, are probably just as afraid that we will end up spending a couple of years in a cell with a bisexual, 300 lb. (136 kg.) dope pusher. This is precisely the reason why Mike Royko (an American humorist) felt that Robert Morris Jr. needed to do some jail time. Prison is not nearly as much a deterrent for the hardened criminal as it is for the college freshman and high school senior. That is why I doubt that we will ever see it illegal to possess virus code here in the U.S. I would rather see us vigorously prosecute the use of these things. Which leads me to my last point. The best way to start fighting this beast is to start reporting people who engage in obviously illegal activity. If you overheard hackers sharing virus code at one of these gatherings, I would advise you to report it to the sponsor of the event and have them thrown out. A conversation overheard at a public event is a perfectly legal tip for the police too. As long as these punks believe that their activities will be tolerated, we will continue to be infected and damaged by these things. Jim Molini