Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!udel!rochester!rutgers!netnews.upenn.edu!scotty.dccs.upenn.edu!kehoe
From: kehoe@scotty.dccs.upenn.edu (Brendan Kehoe)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: hacker = computer criminal
Message-ID: <30571@netnews.upenn.edu>
Date: 4 Oct 90 11:24:03 GMT
Sender: news@netnews.upenn.edu
Reply-To: kehoe@scotty.dccs.upenn.edu (Brendan Kehoe)
Organization: University of Pennsylvania
Lines: 32

In <20225:Oct319:48:5690@kramden.acf.nyu.edu>, brnstnd@kramden.acf.nyu.edu writes:
>Be serious. There are lots of legal issues involved, but it's perfectly
>ethical for (e.g.) a corporation to videotape an employee in the hall if
>they suspect that he's been stealing things, trying office doors other
>than his own, etc. Do you see the analogy?
>
>Sure, Stoll made printouts of every dial-in session; the corporation
>makes videotapes of everybody in the hall. It's just not possible to
>selectively record an event if you don't know when that event happens.


 This doesn't quite ring true with me. Sure, a company might pay closer 
attention to an employee that's suspected of that -- but they wouldn't have
*every* employee tailed, or install cameras in *every* employee's cubicle.
What Stoll did could make a dangerous precedent if opinions like this grow
too wide-spread.
 Your analogy fails on the fact that the people logging in and out and
subsequently getting printed out were doing their own work in what they
assumed was a 'private' session. What if they were doing some research or
programming that they didn't want seen by anyone (save root) until it was
time to have it released? Many corporate entities are well acquainted with
the problem of information being disseminated before they planned.

>Sure, Stoll tapped a phone line---a phone line he was responsible for.
>The corporation makes videotapes of a hall in its own building. What's
>wrong with recording what goes on under your own roof?

 They videotape the HALL -- they don't videotape the offices.

Brendan Kehoe | Soon: brendan@cs.widener.edu [ Oct 16 they say; tune in & see ]
 For now: kehoe@scotty.dccs.upenn.edu | Also: brendan.kehoe@cyber.widener.edu
   "I've tried to forget you, but my Calvins won't let me."   "Oh PuhLEEZ."