RE: Port scanning legal

[Mark Borchers <mborchers () splitrock net>]

The gray area of port-scanning legality came up at Usenix's
conference earlier this month.  I believe the consensus was
that you are on firmer ground when organizations who own
machines that attackers might perform port scans FROM 
have AUP's that prohibit such activity.  Nothing in this 
court case would seem to prevent an organization from 
disciplining individuals for using a system for an
administratively prohibited purpose.


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Edward S. Marshall [mailto:emarshal () logic net]
> Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2000 9:43 AM
> To: nanog () merit edu
> Subject: Port scanning legal
>
>
> http://www.securityfocus.com/templates/article.html?id=126
>
> A quick quote from the article:
>
>     A tiff between two IT contractors that spiraled into federal court
>     ended last month with a U.S. district court ruling in Georgia that
>     port scanning a network does not damage it, under a section of the
>     anti-hacking laws that allows victims of cyber attack to sue an
>     attacker.