LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: Alan Kennington <akenning@dog.topology.org>
  To  : newton@atdot.dotat.org
  Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 15:20:59 +0930

Re: Viruses

Mark,

All good information...
But in the few months after the worm, there were serious suspicions 
that the alleged perpetrator was only one of a group, and that possibly
he was not the main memeber or even responsible at all.

There was a big meeting of security people about the issue, at which
all present were sworn to secrecy because of the damaging
nature of what was discussed. Those not present were very peeved at this!

I don't think that the thing was ever satisfactorily resolved.
It seemed very much like they would have to be satisfied with
just getting one perpetrator.

On the subject of whether a worm on that scale could arise again,
I could think of ways in which it could indeed happen, but
as you say, the diverisity of systems on the net now
makes it difficult. It's like species diversity -- it's difficult
for one virus to kill off a wide diversity of animal life.

But just as 10 years ago no one worried about security because
almost everyone on the net was a computer operator who was
supposedly responsible, now we have only amateurs trying to break
into systems. I think that good professionals could work out
how to cause widepsread devastation to, say, all linux systems.
But no one can realy be bothered to try right now.

By the way, I think the "perpetrator" of the internet worm was
the _son_ of a CIA security guy or something. I think the
perpetrator was a uni student at the time.
His father stood up for  him and said he was of good character etc.,
but the father was made to look silly because of the affair.

-------------
On antoehr note, I once followed a news-group conversation in sci.space
about laser beam weapons that could be directed at foreign individuals
to blind them from satellites, and a related thread  on the optics of
a satellite camera that could read numberplates.

They started off saying it was impossible (atmospheric spread of the
light etc.), but then some people said that that could be
got around in various ways, and after about a week, there were
enough contributions to pretty much build the thing that 
they were saying was REaganite fantasy (this was 1985/86).
And suddenly the thread stopped.

It occurs to me that if we were to have a discussion here about
how hackers _can't_ get into linux boxes with worms, viruses etc.,
then after a couple of weeks, I reckon we could build a virus, worm, etc.,
and then someone would use it!!!!

So maybe we'd better not discuss it!

Cheers,
Alan Kennington.

PS.  Someone tried twice yesterday to mount rat.topology.org's file system.
Someone apparently in korea.
http://www.topology.org/attacks/korea1.html

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