Re: [OT] New Anti-Terrorism Law makes "hacking" punishable by life in prison

["D. Stimits" <stimits@idcomm.com>]

John Gluck wrote:
> 
> Hi
> 
> While I can agree with most of your points, the "life without parole" is
> extreme.
> Yes, I agree that loss of money is significant but is is just money. It's
> similar but not the same as someone digging into a bank vault and availing
> himself of the contents.
> The difference is that in the virus case, the perpetrator does not make money (
> unless of course someone pays him).
> 
> There is also a marked difference between a script kiddie who may be
> irresponsible and malicious, and a terrorist bent on causing destruction and
> bringing the world to its knees.
> In the same manner that banks have dealt with the problem of robbery by taking
> stonger security measures. The computer / communication communities need to
> beef up prevention. Excessive punishment will not solve the problem. It is
> merely a way of saying "we can't protect ourselves so let's kill the
> messengers". Yes, the attacks until now have been messages. They say "you are
> vulnerable fix the vulnerabilities. Instead of being in such a rush to beat
> your competition to the market with a crappy product, bring out a good
> product".


Think of it as a test of maturity, whether the government knows the
difference between justice and revenge. The law hasn't passed yet,
that's why it's nice to see it scrutinized now. But it won't do any good
if people act as if it is already law...the fat lady hasn't sung yet.

D. Stimits, stimits@idcomm.com

> 
> I have long felt that most of the products on the market are deliberately
> released with serious known defects just to bring in revenue. The problem isn't
> with the developers, in many cases they would love to do a better product. It
> rests with marketers and ultimately stockholders who often make unrealistic
> demands for growth and sales.
> 
> Once some terrorist organisation hacks into the GPS satellites and uses them to
> misguide planes into a assortment of buildings, oil refineries and such, it
> will be too late to save those who died. Code Red upsets you, call it a wake up
> call. These are just kids. It's not a concerted terrorist attack by fanatics.
> In a sense we should perhaps be thanking these kids. They are saying "Hey, you
> idoits, wake up. Your systems are incredibly vulnerable. Fix them now before
> something really serious happens. Up to now you've only lost money."
> 
> As long as kids can screw up your computers and communication network with
> relatively simple tools, I submit that the real problem isn't the kids, it's
> the crap that's being used to run the networks. Fix the real problem before the
> fact and you won't need to scream about the costs of cleanup after the fact.
> 
> OK I've repeated myself quite a few times, I hope it sinks in.
> 
> John
> 
....