Re: Attorney General Ashcroft to Hackers You're an Enemy of the State

> I'm a privacy advocate and I think that the new law needs some serious
> debate.

I'm just wanting to be able to do my job without having obscure (and in
some cases obscene) "laws" that have been dropped into place as a "stop
gap" that never gets the attention it requires with respect to wording
etc, so that ambiguity is removed.

> If someone breaks into a system, then in some respect that person has
> identified a hole that needs to be fixed. If that hole goes unchecked
> folks with knowledge of that hole will be able to exploit it without
> detection.
> That's where the debate of the law should pick up.  Who is to 
> keep those
> in check that are creating the law?  The law makers are not technical
> savvy!

From what I've seen, it would appear that the US have worded this
correctly.  (insert IANAL here).  It could still be mis-interpreted, but
the quotes that I saw, read correctly.  Come visit us on the island of
political ignorance :(
 
> I must say that I'm not for the hacking systems except my own. That's
> how I find things that I need to fix. Still the law needs to 
> be debated.
> The next law might be mandatory key stroke loggers on each new machine
> sold just because no one questioned laws that were being passed in a
> moment of anger.  The acts that occurred on September 11th indeed are
> tragic. But, the more laws we pass will eventually make our freedoms
> less free.
> And then I say what the hell were we fighting for?

Again, see the wording.  If its your hardware, no damage done.  I'd
imagine if, as a security consultant where you are hired for penetration
testing, you will have a binding contract that will give you immunity
from any prosecutions.
 
> How does this fit into ISA?  Well we need to keep reading the logs and
> doing some tracking of our own.  Once we find the destinations notify
> the webmasters and web administrators. Yup cost some time and 
> money but
> well worth the effort to keep more laws off the books.

It doesn't, unless it gets passed, upon which US residents can start
laying charges.



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