Re: "Who else picked this one up?"

[Joseph S D Yao <jsdy () cospo osis gov>]

In the latest argument, we heard:

> > Call it what you wish, I have no impetus to peer with the entire planet if
> > the risk is higher than I'm willing to accept.  Whatever means I chose to
> > use to achive that end is up to me, just as it is to every network
> > operator.  It's called self-policing, and it's about the only recourse we
> > have.  I haven't seen a better idea, what's your solution, or is it just
> > status quo?
>
> Mine?  My solution is to get legislation enhanced, to make it something
> that can be actually backup with the legal system, rather then running
> amuck ass a group of inane vigilanties doeling out their onw brand of
> justice, nevermind the "innocents" that incur the wrath of the fanatics,
> collateral damage, as they say.

[I hate running 'ispell' when I respond to text like that.  Eh?]

Odd to hear an apparent fervent supporter of privacy advocate
legislation as a "good" solution.  Those responsible for creating such
legislation do not have a good record.  I could wish for it to be
otherwise, but I know how easy it is to get legislation changed while
it's in committee, and how hard it is to get it nailed down to
something that's "correct" [for any definition of correct] without
someone feeling that they have to go in and change the wording.

And once legislation is in place, it's even worse than you imagine an
RBL entry to be, in terms of getting rid of it.  Legislation grows
something like the number of lines of code in any Microsoft product,
with about the same amount of quality control.

My opinions, and mine only.  Some legislation is good, don't get me
wrong.  But it's not a panacea, and it's mostly good for SOCIAL
situations, not TECHNICAL situations.  I.e., yes, make it illegal to
break into a network.  Even establish case law that makes scanning
prior to breaking in acceptable as evidence of intent to break in
[versus, "oops, I pressed the wrong password, and now I'm in"].  But
don't establish legislation that says anything about network probes.
If you did, you could have all of the MSW-NT users in the hoosegow for
enabling NetBEUI [sp?]!

--
Joe Yao                         jsdy () cospo osis gov - Joseph S. D. Yao
COSPO/OSIS Computer Support                                     EMT-B
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