Newsgroups: news.software.b
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Cnews security
Message-ID: <1989Jun24.204900.24693@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <9482@b-tech.ann-arbor.mi.us>
Date: Sat, 24 Jun 89 20:49:00 GMT

In article <9482@b-tech.ann-arbor.mi.us> zeeff@b-tech.ann-arbor.mi.us (Jon Zeeff) writes:
>One thing that bothers me about news (cnews or 2.11) is that it 
>doesn't have any protection once someone breaks the news id - if you 
>break news, you can break many others ids (via a trojan horse) because 
>so many people run things owned by news...

Note that in our preferred configuration, the binaries that people would
run are not owned by news!  News owns only the control files, the articles,
and one or two crucial binaries.  This is not an accident.  It's not perfect,
but it does reduce vulnerability.
-- 
NASA is to spaceflight as the  |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
US government is to freedom.   | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu