Re: Port scanning legal

[<mdevney () teamsphere com>]

On Tue, 19 Dec 2000 Valdis.Kletnieks () vt edu wrote:

> 3) Let's not forget that a *scan* only actually impairs the integrity
> of a network that hasn't been secured against scanning.  You'll never
> have somebody walk up to you and say "Hey, your front door is unlocked"
> if you always lock your front door.
I do not understand why people get so uppity about a scan.  Let's be real
here, a simple portscan is about equivalent to walking along a sidewalk
and checking out the houses for open windows and doors.  And about as
harmful.

What is harmful is what sometimes comes after that.  (Not always; not
usually; not even half the time I'd bet.)  But the only damage a portscan
does is a few packets over your network and maybe 4M of logs (depending on
how you're logging).  When writing and enforcing laws, it's important to
punish what's harmful, not what may be harmful.  Or else looking at houses
as you walk down the street may be illegal.

Matthew Devney
System Administrator 
Teamsphere Interactive