Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!yale!husc6!sunfs3!geoff
From: geoff@sunfs3.camex.uucp (Geoffrey Knauth)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Soviet Access to Usenet
Summary: Does any USG agency regulate US-USSR technical exchanges?
Message-ID: <266@sunfs3.camex.uucp>
Date: 23 Nov 88 16:08:53 GMT
References: <7649@well.UUCP> <8081@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>
Reply-To: geoff@sunfs3.UUCP (Geoffrey Knauth)
Distribution: na
Organization: Camex, Inc., Boston, Mass USA
Lines: 20

In article <8081@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> ajdenner@athena.mit.edu (Alexander J Denner) writes:
>	Having a UUCP site would make it much easier for them to
>spread a malicious virus in a time of friction.  Also, what if a virus
>from the US leaks into Russia (or a virus from the USSR gets into the US)?
>Such a situation would cause many problems and bad feelings.

I agree that a normal, or unrestricted UUCP site sounds risky.  On the
other hand, I think the offering the Soviets regulated access, in
exchange for some access to their networks (if any), could have some
benefits for the United States, e.g., if the Soviets open up.

The risks are big enough, though, for me to wish some arm of the U.S.
Government would step in and supervise US-USSR technical bridges,
especially since these exchanges are neither unregulated nor benign on
the Soviet side.
-- 
Geoffrey S. Knauth                 ARPA: geoff%lloyd@husc6.harvard.edu
Camex, Inc.                        UUCP: geoff@lloyd.uucp or husc6!lloyd!geoff
75 Kneeland St., Boston, MA 02111
Tel: (617)426-3577  Fax: 426-9285            I do not speak for Camex.