more on Wired magazine story to detail Slammer Web attack

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Joseph Lorenzo Hall
Date: Sat, 07 Jun 2003 09:37:15 -0700 (PDT)
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Re: [IP] Wired magazine story to detail Slammer Web attack

(no email if posted, please)

> SEATTLE, June 5 (Reuters) - Wired magazine is planning to publish
> the underlying code for the Slammer worm that slowed Internet
> traffic to a crawl in January, raising questions over whether such
> articles inspire future hackers or educate potential victims.

In a similar development, a University of Calgary course will teach
students about the writing of viruses...:

http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php?id=1403163557&fp=16&fpid=0

Class on virus creation draws industry ire
Andrew Brandt, PC World

When the University of Calgary announced plans last week to offer a
course that includes instruction on writing computer viruses,
officials expected the antivirus industry to support the
move--designed to help educate future virus fighters. Instead,
industry leaders have roundly criticized the plan.

"It legitimizes the creation of destructive code and the justification
for virus writers to do their work," says Robert Vipert, administrator
of the Antivirus Information and Early Warning System and the
Antivirus Information Exchange Network. Both organizations help
antivirus researchers and virus fighters share information about new
and emerging threats.

"You can quote me on this," he says. "Please don't do this, please
don't teach people to write viruses."

Proactive Approach?

Despite the industry's negative reaction, university officials insist
the class will help develop the next generation of computer-security
specialists, not rogue virus writers.

"The course is about understanding viruses adequately in order to stop
them from happening," says Dr. Ken Barker, chair of the Department of
Computer Sciences at the university. "We want to create the next
antivirus professional who can be proactive at anticipating the next
kind of virus software, the next innovators in antivirus."

Class participants would write their code in a secured computer lab,
so the viruses would not reach the Internet, Barker says. And students
would not create new viruses; instead they would recode existing ones.
Finally, the virus writing would be only one part of a larger
computer-security program that includes discussions of computer ethics
and legal issues.

But representatives of antivirus software companies rejected the idea
that teaching students to work on viruses would benefit anyone.

"There's no value teaching people to write viruses. They are extremely
simple," says David Perry, global director of education at Trend
Micro. "Looking at the 10- or 12-line replication routine once tells
you all you need to know about (a virus). That's why they're being
written by 15 year old kids."

Besides, says Ian Hameroff, security strategist at Computer
Associates, there are already legitimate antivirus labs in place---and
they don't teach students how to make viruses.

"The University of Hamburg has a trusted laboratory that contributes a
lot to antivirus, but they're not creating viruses out there," he says
"We as computer users don't want to make the unorganized availability
of this information on the Web organized as a course and formalized in
a university offering without having the right protections in place."

<...>

------------------------------------------------------------------
Joseph Lorenzo Hall
Graduate Student                 http://astron.berkeley.edu/~jhall


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