Aleph1 Passes The Bugtraq Baton

Rogue_F writes: "The long running security mailing list Bugtraq is getting a new moderator. Elias Levy (the real name of the familiar Aleph1) has decided to move on to other things. For nearly six years he has been moderating bugtraq with a high degree of success. No one doubts the usefulness of bugtraq, but many people probably dont appreciate what a 'clean' list it is. No spam, no flames, no relgious security wars, instead you get good wholesome security information. Aleph1 details in this message that he is moving on to other security projects and that David Ahmad is taking over moderation duties. Bugtraq continues to churn out quality security information on a daily basis, and it looks like it will continue to do so for quite some time to come." List moderators and maintainers seem universally denied their due credit -- people like Zack Brown (of Kernel Traffic fame) end up getting noticed only when --infrequently -- they go on vacation.

Comments

An interview with Elias Levy

[Black Acid]

Now that Elias Levy has moved on it may be interesting to read an interview done by UnderLinux. Aleph1 explains his philosophy behind security - recommended reading for anyone interested. Levy is wise enough not to take sides on whether GNU/Linux or OpenBSD are secure. Here's a good quote:

UnderLinux: One time surfing on the web I see this phrase : "Wanna defeat hackers..think like a hacker.. work like a security expert". What you think about this ?
Aleph1 : A cliche, but a valid one. When creating defensive security technologies you must test them by attempting to defeat them before others do. Therefore you do not only require a defensive mindset but also an offensive one. Not only that but you must be better and more through than the ones you are defensing from. As a defender you must find and fix all possible avenues of attack. As an attacker you must only find and exploit one.

This guy is brilliant. Hopefully the new moderators will be able to live up to Elis Levy's wisdom.

Aleph1 will be missed by at least me.

[GoNINzo]

I've been reading BugTraQ for years, and Elias has done a fantastic job running it. I've been impressed by the sheer amount of mail he's been able to manage, going through several different mass mailers. and the signal to noise ratio has been one of the highest on the internet for security related information. He was quick to admit when the mailers had issues, he was quick to compile data for massive attacks that were immediately ongoing, he would always keep us informed, and most importantly, he rarely let the traffic slow.

The 'usual discussions' were sometimes let through, but Elias never let them go on too long. The spam was almost non-existant. And anytime I had a problem with recieving items from the mailing lists, he was always quick to fix them.

Aleph1's contribution to the security community has been sizable, and he shall be remembered. Even if only for future "gR33+5 +0 4l3ph1!!" in exploit code to come.

Thank you for contributing your time and energy herding 50,000 cats at the same time. Some of us appreciate it a great deal.

(Not to downplay david's already noticable contribution of course. `8r) )