Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!world!eff!rita
From: rita@eff.org (Rita Marie Rouvalis)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Student suspended for distributing /etc/passwd
Message-ID: <1991Jun12.192155.12407@eff.org>
Date: 12 Jun 91 19:21:55 GMT
References: <1991Jun12.011740.20751@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> <1991Jun12.042513.20870@athena.cs.uga.edu> <1991Jun12.055211.24457@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>
Organization: The Electronic Frontier Foundation
Lines: 34

In article <1991Jun12.055211.24457@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> gl8f@astsun7.astro.Virginia.EDU (Greg Lindahl) writes:
>In article <1991Jun12.042513.20870@athena.cs.uga.edu> mcovingt@athena.cs.uga.edu (Michael A. Covington) writes:
>
>>I wasn't being sarcastic, but I certainly _would_ consider intent.
>>But a student who wants to run Cops for a legitimate reason should
>>seek permission _first_, preferably. 
>
>Why should he seek permission from you? Do you only allow students to
>run programs which are pre-approved? Is this your announced policy?
>Or, do you feel yourself qualified to decide legal matters, on par
>with a state or federal judge?

	Don't you think it might be wise to cover one's tracks by
*notifying* a sysadmin of this kind of activity instead of waiting
to get *caught*.  The lab I used to work for is writing a piece of
security software.  In order to discover what kinds of holes are
around the University's system, the programmers had to go and exploit
them.  This is an example of a *legitimate* reason for cracking UN*X
boxes.  And yes, the other sysadmins knew what we were working on.

	Of course, it is sad to not the passing of an era when people
did not worry about this kind of thing.

  





-- 
Rita Marie Rouvalis (NB new address!!)   rita@eff.org 
The Electronic Frontier Foundation       | when this yellow rose leaned,
155 Second Street                        | cupping yesterday's rain,
Cambridge, MA 02141                      | glassy drops extravagant and poised.