Re: Origins of Security Problems

[ljknews <ljknews () mac com>]

At 9:52 AM -0700 6/17/04, Blue Boar wrote:
> ljknews wrote:
> > A significant difference from DECnet is that with TCP/IP any user on the
> > system can open up a channel (to use a neutral term) to receive incoming
> > traffic, potentially providing a capability to the outside world without
> > the least bit of authentication.  With DECnet (Phase IV or Phase V) on
> > VMS such actions require getting a special privilege from the system
> > manager (potentially granted to a specific program rather than to the
> > programmer).
>
> Hm?  You mean they had to have privs on VMS to allocate a listening port?
 What
does that matter?  DECNet doesn't only run on VMS.

But the vast majority of current DECnet usage is on VMS.

> Years ago, I used to be a network admin at a place that had thousands of
Win95 and
Mac boxes running DECNet.  No such restriction, there.  Had it been
DECNet/OSI
that won instead of IP, I don't believe there would be any significant
difference.

I don't know the OSI protocol stack, but the NCP side retains the
restriction.
Given the security-mindedness of DEC's implementors the OSI stack might also.