Re: Recent Attacks

["Paul D. Robertson" <proberts () clark net>]

On Mon, 21 Feb 100, Darren Reed wrote:

> In some email I received from Paul D. Robertson, sie wrote:
> [...]
> > Viruses have *clearly* cost more money over time, and yet I don't see the
> > same outroar there.  I'm not sure if that's due to market dynamics (it's a
> > good business to be in the "antivirus" vendor space), or if it's something
> > else, or maybe the sentencing this week is the start of that?
>
> Viruses are a problem which can be `managed'.  They're `damage' is also

Only after the fact.

> localized in effect - a pc here or there and aren't exactly something
> which is high profile.  Keep backups of important data, etc, and you're

Melissa dropped several companies e-mail systems off the Net for quite a
while.

> But these attacks do more than that.  They also, with their publicity,
> suggest that perhaps the Internet isn't the most fabulous place to be
> generating new business.  With all the billions of dollars put into
> the Internet, the last thing a lot of people want to feel is that it's
> wasted money or even at risk with no long term way of protecting people
> from the DDoS attaks.

Long-term there are plenty of ways to protect from DDoS attacks, and some
of them will even work.  It's the short- to mid-term that's the problem.
However, I still think that trying to call network scanners akin
to munitions when VCL isn't is lopsided.  Then again, I think the idiot
who put a programming language into a word processor should be shot.

Paul
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Paul D. Robertson      "My statements in this message are personal opinions
proberts () clark net      which may have no basis whatsoever in fact."
                                                                     PSB#9280