RE: grsecurity: Another one bites the dust...

["Andrew Hintz \(Drew\)" <drew () overt org>]

I bet they're referring to this patent:

Security management system and method #6,542,993

Abstract:
A comprehensive system and method for managing security in an electronic
network. The method includes the steps of providing a plurality of security
services, providing a plurality of security mechanisms, and linking the
services and mechanisms with a plurality of security management functions.
<http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect2=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2F
netahtml%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN%2F65429
93>

I just got a letter about this one too.  Oh well, what is this world coming
to?  All these patents and such...
I just don't get it.

HTH,
--
^Drew

http://guh.nu

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> -----Original Message-----
> From: full-disclosure-admin () lists netsys com
> [mailto:full-disclosure-admin () lists netsys com]On Behalf Of
> Glenn_Everhart () bankone com
> Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2003 8:06 AM
> To: jeff () xiir net; full-disclosure () lists netsys com
> Subject: RE: [Full-disclosure] grsecurity: Another one bites the dust...
>
>
> Anybody know what the patent claims are?
>
> Some of the descriptions of grsecurity sound an awful lot like technology
> I developed for VMS and published in the late 1990s in the Safety
> program (still available, free) or documented as trivial
> extensions (rate limits).
>
> A brief description of the Safety program is at http://users.rcn.com/gce
> in case there is a wish to see what it has in a very limited way.
> It assumes
> the VMS ACL system of course, and some of the other security
> goodness in VMS,
> but gets fairly tricky in other ways.
>
> The rate limiting idea was something I have described as a useful
> feature for
> at least the past 6-7 years and can be found here and there in my
> mails and
> some bits of publications (DECUS sigtapes mainly).
>
> At any rate, it is possibly prior art and publication, and was certainly
> released to the public and should be useful in defending claims
> that functions
> it provides could be patented by someone else.
>
> At one time I wanted to sell Safety, but gave up on that and just
> published the
> sources several years ago. The documents had been published when
> it was first
> implemented (along about 1995).
>
> While there is a bunch of other stuff in grsecurity that is not in Safety
> it is probably worth while to keep aware of what has been
> published (even in
> publications that (alas) seem to have narrow circulation) so that
> if someone
> claims patents on some of those functions, the patents can be disputed.
>
> Glenn Everhart
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jeff [mailto:jeff () xiir net]
> Sent: Monday, March 31, 2003 10:14 PM
> To: full-disclosure () lists netsys com
> Subject: [Full-disclosure] grsecurity: Another one bites the dust...
>
>
> http://www.grsecurity.net
>
> Looks like another big company screwed over a team of innocent developers.
> It's a shame, grsecurity had so much promise.
>
> Figures.
>
> -jeff
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