Re: Pentester convicted..

[Davide Carnevali <carnevali () protechta it>]

The open front door of the store is more likely an error or error 
message in the Web application that EVERYONE can see: ex. 404 or an 
error connecting to the DB...
SQL Injection, even though so popular, are not visible to anyone...it 
needs further investigation...it seems like: "look that door, it seems 
not properly locked. Let push it harder to see if it really opens..."

Does it seems ethical?

Say you go outside and leave you house's door closed but unlocked.
What will you think about a person that tells your neighbour he entered 
your house and walked around (yes just walked...) because you did not 
locked up the door?

Reagrds,

Davide


Ian Scott wrote:
> So, one night, I'm taking a stroll along main street in my town.  I stop for a 
> rest, and happen to lean up against the front door of a store.
>
> I notice the door gives a little bit - and out of curiousity and concern, push 
> a little harder.
>
> The door opens.
>
> I immediately stop what I am doing, and notify the owners and the authorities 
> that the premises are insecure.
>
> By the absolute legal definition, I have indeed "broke and entered" the 
> premises.
>
> Where the hell is motive in all of this?  I think that unless there was motive 
> to do some harm, this conviction is utterly ridiculous.
>
> That's my quickie opinion on the matter.
>
> Best,
>
> Ian Scott
>
> On May 10, 2006 10:20 am, William Hancock wrote:
> > Hey there pen-testers, take this with a grain of salt, it just got me
> > excited.  I am really interested in everyones opinion on the matter or
> > corporate responsibility and ownership.
> >
> > <RANT>
> > In an article posted to slashdot today
> > (http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/05/10/112259&from=rss) a man
> > has been convicted of hacking when he casually and helpfully reported a
> > security vulnerability to the owners of a web site, in this case The
> > University of Southern California.  It reads like it was some sort of
> > simple SQL injection and upon gleaning the information he reported it.
> >
> > What are we to do as a community I ask?  We should we, the good guys,
> > who are paid for our knowledge and ability to exploit mistakes,
> > oversights, and weaknesses then professionally report them to aid in the
> > securing of information capital (or anyone who reports the flaw for that
> > matter) worry about prosecution.  It lends itself to a forcing the
> > technical community to sit on their laurels and wait for the people who
> > don't report issues to exploit them.  Further it sounds very clear that
> > had he not notified them, they would have never known.
> >
> > A security pro notices a flaw, checks to make sure he is not on crack by
> > 'flipping a bit', deems the threat viable and is likely to be exploited,
> > notifies the owners, then get arrested and charged with unauthorized
> > access.  We, as a or even The security community, should push
> > corporations, governments, and organized body's to take responsibility
> > and ownership of their problems.  If they publish a site that is flawed
> > or exposing information then they are authorizing the retrieval of that
> > information.  I'm not advocating that they laws should allow any jerk to
> > try and brute his or her way in to a public or private web site, but
> > come on.
> >
> > If someone leaves their wallet in the park with no guard or protection,
> > I pick it up and bring it back to the owner, the owner didn't want me to
> > have it but I brought it back to him.  Why in the hell should I have to
> > go to jail for returning it to him, why should I/we be punished for
> > doing the right thing?
> >
> > I acknowledge this to be a rant but there must but some way to insist
> > that when people make something available to the public that it is their
> > responsibility to safeguard it and appreciate not persecute someone who
> > let's them know (for free I might add) that a weakness exists.  This is
> > simple scapegoating, the University did something not advisable as a
> > good practice and instead of owning up to it they villafied a
> > professional pen-tester for offering valid advice.
> >
> > </RANT>
> >
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Bill
> >
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--

Davide Carnevali
CTO
Protechta - Information Security
OPST, CCSP
Tel. +39 0521 2021
Fax. +39 0521 207461
http://www.protechta.it/
e-mail: davide () protechta it
Disclaimer: http://www.protechta.it/disclaimer

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This List Sponsored by: Cenzic

Concerned about Web Application Security? 
Why not go with the #1 solution - Cenzic, the only one to win the Analyst's 
Choice Award from eWeek. As attacks through web applications continue to rise, 
you need to proactively protect your applications from hackers. Cenzic has the 
most comprehensive solutions to meet your application security penetration 
testing and vulnerability management needs. You have an option to go with a 
managed service (Cenzic ClickToSecure) or an enterprise software 
(Cenzic Hailstorm). Download FREE whitepaper on how a managed service can 
help you: http://www.cenzic.com/news_events/wpappsec.php 
And, now for a limited time we can do a FREE audit for you to confirm your 
results from other product. Contact us at request () cenzic com for details.
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