Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!sgi!llustig!xanadu!legato!nowicki
From: nowicki@legato (Bill Nowicki)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.admin
Subject: Re: Questions about UNIX viruses
Summary: stop the rumor
Message-ID: <2755@legato.Legato.COM>
Date: 6 Apr 91 02:38:29 GMT
References: <1991Apr01.203128.13427@esleng.ocunix.on.ca> <1177@cthulhuControl.COM> <11685@dog.ee.lbl.gov>
Reply-To: nowicki@legato.COM (Bill Nowicki)
Organization: Legato Systems, Inc., Palo Alto, CA
Lines: 22

In article <11685@dog.ee.lbl.gov> torek@elf.ee.lbl.gov (Chris Torek) writes:
>... raisch@Control.COM (Robert Raisch) writes:
>>It should be noted that the [Internet] Worm used WELL KNOWN trapdoors and
>>flaws in systems software to attack.  Both Sun and Dec were aware of these
>>security holes as far back as 1980.
>
>Oh really?  Please produce some evidence to this effect.  

I would like to repeat this request. I was the software engineer
working on sendmail for Sun at the time, and it was news to me.
Although several people claimed to have "known" about the bug, when
pressed for details they got very defensive or changed their story.
Nobody yet has produced any evidence to me that they knew of this bug
before the Worm. If they did know, it was quite unresponsible of them
to not report it to anybody.

Compare this to the people who claimed they "knew" about the 1989
earthquake around here before it happened. Sure.  And if you believe
that....

	Bill Nowicki
	Legato Systems