Full Disclosure mailing list archives
RE: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect
From: "Jason Coombs" <jasonc () science org>
Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2003 10:39:53 -1000
<mds () helices org> wrote:
OK, they nabbed a nickel-bagger
come on, the guy is a lot closer to a lovesick youth who couldn't resist carving his initials in Windows when he saw the chance than he is to a drug dealer. we don't know, and chances are that the FBI *cannot* know, whether this person infected any computers other than his own with his "I LOVE YOU SAN!" "billy gates" variant. Even if he confesses, I want to see the transcript or videotape of the interrogation -- I can just see the FBI asking him "so you admit to obtaining a copy of the Blaster worm and using an editor to tamper with it, inserting your own messages to Bill Gates and your girlfriend?" "yes." "and you also admit to sending your worm to other computers using the Internet?" "yes, I sent copies of the worm to other people using the Internet." in computer forensics it's very common for smart, and even well-trained people, to talk to each other each thinking they understand what is being said but neither of them bothering to clarify the technical details... if he made the modifications and gave the modified worm to other people but didn't cause it to infect anyone else's computers, then what crime is he guilty of exactly? criminal misuse of a hex editor? we're not under arrest so it's easy for us to convict the suspect based on the premise that he modified the binary therefore he's guilty of attacking computers with it, but most of us had a copy of the binary long before he did and many of us gave copies to other people... let's not jump to conclusions and revoke this person's civil, constitutional, and human rights. -----Original Message----- From: full-disclosure-admin () lists netsys com [mailto:full-disclosure-admin () lists netsys com]On Behalf Of Paul Schmehl Sent: Saturday, August 30, 2003 6:12 AM To: full-disclosure () lists netsys com Subject: Re: [Full-disclosure] Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect --On Saturday, August 30, 2003 9:24 AM -0500 Michael D Schleif <mds () helices org> wrote:
OK, they nabbed a nickel-bagger; let's not get carried away! This kid is small potatoes, compared to other vermin spreaders, and we -- on this list, at least -- know that as fact. It's one thing to make an example of this kid; it's quite another thing to put a lid on this whole wormy Internet thingy . . .
Trust me, work is being done to catch other ones as well. Paul Schmehl (pauls () utdallas edu) Adjunct Information Security Officer The University of Texas at Dallas AVIEN Founding Member http://www.utdallas.edu _______________________________________________ Full-Disclosure - We believe in it. Charter: http://lists.netsys.com/full-disclosure-charter.html _______________________________________________ Full-Disclosure - We believe in it. Charter: http://lists.netsys.com/full-disclosure-charter.html
Current thread:
- RE: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect, (continued)
- RE: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect Brent Colflesh (Aug 29)
- RE: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect Byron Copeland (Aug 29)
- RE: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect Paul Schmehl (Aug 29)
- RE: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect Richard M. Smith (Aug 29)
- RE: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect gml (Aug 29)
- RE: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect Byron Copeland (Aug 29)
- Re: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect bitbucket (Aug 30)
- Re: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect Valdis . Kletnieks (Aug 29)
- Re: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect Michael D Schleif (Aug 30)
- Re: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect Paul Schmehl (Aug 30)
- RE: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect Jason Coombs (Aug 30)
- RE: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect madsaxon (Aug 30)
- Re: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect ww (Aug 30)
- Re: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect Michael D Schleif (Aug 31)
- RE: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect Brent Colflesh (Aug 29)
- Re: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect Michael D Schleif (Aug 30)
- Re: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect Anthony Saffer (Aug 29)
- Re: Authorities eye MSBlaster suspect Nick FitzGerald (Aug 29)