Would be a shame to have some of the most talented workers in the USA leave over stuff like this. I understand that only US citizens are now permitted to work on federal government systems - not just classified stuff, even mundane applications like Indian reservation trust funds, etc. There was also some talk about how scandalous it was to have programmers from India working on Y2K remediation - after all they might put in back doors that compromise security.
If that doesn't worry you, then add this factoid to it. I work for a large healthcare provider in my area. I am one of six Unix SAs. Out of the team of six, we have one Japanese member of staff, one Indian, two Vietnamese, myself (a Scot) and only one American
Healthcare? Isn't that part of our Critical Infrastructure? You mean they still allow non-citizens to work on Crticial Infrastructure?
Guinea possesses major mineral, hydropower, and agricultural resources, yet remains an underdeveloped nation.
Let's ignore the mineral part, and note that agriculture is probably to mainstay of most of the population. Internet access, by supporting better agricultural management, will help improve productivity in this area. For example:
Maybe they don't wire to find out what a Big Mac tastes like, but they may ask about financing export, funds for development projects, scientific information on crop cultivation, etc.
There is more to the Internet than games and pr0n.
Or maybe he's just jealous that the NSA could crack everything and his agency never could.
I've heard that historically this has been a bone of contention. The FBI would find some criminal using a home brewed encryption scheme, give it to the NSA. The NSA folks would figure it out on their lunch hour and have a good laugh. Absolutely no comparison between FBI and NSA when it comes to crypto skill level. This is from James Bamford The Puzzle Palace, p471 in the Penguin Books paperback edition.
That's nothing. I have to pay royalties for the voices I've been hearing in my head all these years.
Should have followed my doctor's advice and kept taking the medication.
Re:Thank GOD I was born in 1956!
on
Generation Wrecked
·
· Score: 2, Funny
In the 1980s we would have said:
Can you imagine driving your (due to be paid off in 1995) BMW home from your job as a DEC VAX System Analyst to the Condo you'll be working for the rest of your life to pay off, grabbing a California Cooler from the fridge to go with the sushi you got from the nearest Japanese place, and watching MTV (some things havent changed in 20 yrs) for a while before spending the rest of the evening playing PACMAN while listening to Depeche Mode CDs, until you get a message on your answering machine that says "wanna do some coke" or some such nonsense?
I recall the term being around since the mid-1980s, supposedly to refer to that generation NEVER touched by the 1960's, and bitter that they did not share the prosperity fo their elders (sound familiar). Kind of the immediate post-Babyboomers (who would be pushing 40 by now).
Classic bit of Gen X literature was Bret Easton Ellis' Less Than Zero
I think it has become a general term of contempt that the middle aged use to refer to their "youngers"
"I belong to the blank generation. I believe in nothing at all" - Richard Hell
Saw something similar with the real estate bandwagon of the 1980's and related financial services boom. People who bought homes (usually with Daddy's money for the downpayment) all had shit eating grins. Same for folks in financial services and those profiting from the Reagan era military build up.
I had to put up with these smug bastards until the bottom fell out around 1990 or so. Interesting how many people wanted out of their "perfect starter homes" in marginal neighborhoods.
Finally bought a home at bargain rates in the mid-90s.
Lesson: Stick this one out. Things will get better. In the mean time "buy low, sell high"
I have no doubt that if Saudi Arabia were the pre-eminent power in the world, with a military bigger than all other countries combined, then we would all be expected to follow Sharia if we wanted their oil, and would face "regime change" otherwise.
... You would be severely limited in your options by your access to oil on a medium-term basis.
Wasn't that what ultimately did in the Third Reich? Didn't some high ranking Nazi figure out early in WWII that the Germans simply did not have the access to petroleum they required, and therefore simply could not win the war?
If you avail yourself of the benefits of doing business in America, then you are subject to the laws of America.
Given the amount of oil the US imports from Saudi Arabia, it sounds like a good argument could be made for enforcing Saudi laws in the USA. We should expect US citizens to now face lengthy jail terms for possessing copies of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition, for possessing and consuming fermented beverages, etc. And don't forget the public executions for things like adultery.
If we can tell other countries what their laws must be regarding software, then they can expect us to enforce their laws about equally important moral sanctions.
A big problem is that the outsourcer becomes embedded into your day-to-day operations. You lose your in-house capabilities, are tied to the outsourcer's (proprietary) technology and methods, have no visibility to your IT operations, and worst yet, you are in a position where getting rid of the outsourcer becomes ungodly difficult. The biggest cost of outsourcing is the hidden cost of eliminating the outsourcer. Whatever financial benefit comes at the ocst of completely losing control and flexibility.
I was discussing this article with my pet ferret, named Ripper. He was very upset at the idea, and wanted to do something about it. After assuring him that ferrets have no standing in civil court and hence cannot be sued, Ripper decided to tell his closest ferret friends, Stinky and Crabby. They in turn got the word out throughout the domesticated ferret community and decided to organize a mass protest, just like human beings used to do during the 1960's. They felt that demonstrating in front of Mr. Novak's home would be the most useful tactic, as it would draw media attention to their cause and let Mr. Novak know what a bad, bad person he is.
Mr. Novak, if I were you I would keep my windows shut and my door locked. If someone knocks at your door do not answer it. Instead you should hire a professional arbitrator and have this skilled individual personally negotiate with the ferrets. Believe me, I know Ripper, Stinky, and Crabby personally. You had better not mess with them!
Would you but a firewall product that wasn't ICSA certified? Would you buy a crypto card that wasn't FIPS 140-1 certified? No. Absence of a certification means that either the product has a serious security flaw that the test would find, or that the vendor simply doesn't care. Either of these are reasons to drop the vendor off your list. An MCSE doesn't make someone a capable system administrator by any means, but would you ever hire anyone who didn't have an MSCE to administer MS servers?
No certification can say a product is secure. A certification can only mean the product was tested and found compliant with standards. Security isn't an all or nothing characteristic. All other things being equal, a certified product is less likely to fail than one that was unable to pass the tests.
To launch a rare defense of Microsoft, all C2 certifies is the basic OS plus maybe the few other components making up the "trusted computing base"
I don't have (and don't intend to) review the MS NT evaluation document, but I would bet IIS, Exchange, Outlook, IE, etc. are NOT part of the trusted computing environment.
In fact my recollection is that very few actual security exploits have come up in the last few years dealing with native NT code.
Point being, is that maybe the base OS is pretty secure - which is all the certification says.
Right and wrong depend on the context in which the action occurs, and whether the "recipient" of the action has reason to believe the purpetrator is acting maliciously, benevolently, or with neutral intent. For example:
Should you be able to pop the hood on my car in the Wal-Mart parking lot to see how my car is different than yours?
Did you ask first? Do I know you and know your intent is harmless? If I brought my car in for unrelated servicing (tire change, etc.), and you are a mechanic, could you do this? Are you a valet to whom I have entrusted the car for secure parking (in which case it would be inappropriate and you wouldn't get a tip but I certainly wouldn't have you arrested)?
This is what makes the difference and is why the blanket rules against grey-hat hacking are wrong.
A blanket rule "never look under the hood" might mean there was something wrong with the car that the manufacturer didn't want you to know. Not allowing individuals with harmless intent to examine something indicates something else is wrong and maybe the provider of the goods doesn't want you to find it out.
Would I trust the manufacturer of a car that takes people to court for examining flaws in the engine without THEIR authorization? No way!
netphilter is right that open doors don't make B&E legal. If you leave your door hanging open, and a robber comes in in the middle of the night, "the door was open" does not work as a defense strategy.
Though it DOES make a great deal of difference to your insurance company. Which is why all cars for which theft claims are filed have always been diligenty locked.
Apart from pirating software, are folks dealing with large scale warez also inclined to be involved in other illegal activities (I mean non-trivial ones)?
As far as you saw (and are willing to admit) were there ties between this scene and other organized criminal activities? Did people who delivered warez also deal in coke on the side, for example?
Would you, on a personal level, trust the other people in the warez business? Are they reasonable folks who happen to have an illegal side business, or are they generally not very reputable?
Slashdot Mirror
Would be a shame to have some of the most talented workers in the USA leave over stuff like this. I understand that only US citizens are now permitted to work on federal government systems - not just classified stuff, even mundane applications like Indian reservation trust funds, etc. There was also some talk about how scandalous it was to have programmers from India working on Y2K remediation - after all they might put in back doors that compromise security.
Healthcare? Isn't that part of our Critical Infrastructure? You mean they still allow non-citizens to work on Crticial Infrastructure?
We all know documentaries never make any money. Now if the filmakers had produced something *fictional* then it would have a chance.
Guinea possesses major mineral, hydropower, and agricultural resources, yet remains an underdeveloped nation. Let's ignore the mineral part, and note that agriculture is probably to mainstay of most of the population. Internet access, by supporting better agricultural management, will help improve productivity in this area. For example:
Market and commodity information to assist in export
Botany, the science of plants including pest control, plant breeding, etc.
Etc.
Maybe they don't wire to find out what a Big Mac tastes like, but they may ask about financing export, funds for development projects, scientific information on crop cultivation, etc.
There is more to the Internet than games and pr0n.
I've heard that historically this has been a bone of contention. The FBI would find some criminal using a home brewed encryption scheme, give it to the NSA. The NSA folks would figure it out on their lunch hour and have a good laugh. Absolutely no comparison between FBI and NSA when it comes to crypto skill level. This is from James Bamford The Puzzle Palace, p471 in the Penguin Books paperback edition.
Should have followed my doctor's advice and kept taking the medication.
Can you imagine driving your (due to be paid off in 1995) BMW home from your job as a DEC VAX System Analyst to the Condo you'll be working for the rest of your life to pay off, grabbing a California Cooler from the fridge to go with the sushi you got from the nearest Japanese place, and watching MTV (some things havent changed in 20 yrs) for a while before spending the rest of the evening playing PACMAN while listening to Depeche Mode CDs, until you get a message on your answering machine that says "wanna do some coke" or some such nonsense?
And it WAS hell
Classic bit of Gen X literature was Bret Easton Ellis' Less Than Zero
I think it has become a general term of contempt that the middle aged use to refer to their "youngers"
"I belong to the blank generation. I believe in nothing at all" - Richard Hell
I had to put up with these smug bastards until the bottom fell out around 1990 or so. Interesting how many people wanted out of their "perfect starter homes" in marginal neighborhoods.
Finally bought a home at bargain rates in the mid-90s.
Lesson: Stick this one out. Things will get better. In the mean time "buy low, sell high"
Laws tend to codify power, not justice
Wasn't that what ultimately did in the Third Reich? Didn't some high ranking Nazi figure out early in WWII that the Germans simply did not have the access to petroleum they required, and therefore simply could not win the war?
Given the amount of oil the US imports from Saudi Arabia, it sounds like a good argument could be made for enforcing Saudi laws in the USA. We should expect US citizens to now face lengthy jail terms for possessing copies of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition, for possessing and consuming fermented beverages, etc. And don't forget the public executions for things like adultery.
If we can tell other countries what their laws must be regarding software, then they can expect us to enforce their laws about equally important moral sanctions.
Fair's fair, right?
Sort of like going through a divorce..
Or maybe having a kidney removed
Mr. Novak, if I were you I would keep my windows shut and my door locked. If someone knocks at your door do not answer it. Instead you should hire a professional arbitrator and have this skilled individual personally negotiate with the ferrets. Believe me, I know Ripper, Stinky, and Crabby personally. You had better not mess with them!
THE FERRETS UNITED WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!
No certification can say a product is secure. A certification can only mean the product was tested and found compliant with standards. Security isn't an all or nothing characteristic. All other things being equal, a certified product is less likely to fail than one that was unable to pass the tests.
I don't have (and don't intend to) review the MS NT evaluation document, but I would bet IIS, Exchange, Outlook, IE, etc. are NOT part of the trusted computing environment.
In fact my recollection is that very few actual security exploits have come up in the last few years dealing with native NT code.
Point being, is that maybe the base OS is pretty secure - which is all the certification says.
It would be cool to get some cell phones all with the same dial tune and try to make a round out of them. Polyphonic Telephonic?
Should you be able to pop the hood on my car in the Wal-Mart parking lot to see how my car is different than yours?
Did you ask first? Do I know you and know your intent is harmless? If I brought my car in for unrelated servicing (tire change, etc.), and you are a mechanic, could you do this? Are you a valet to whom I have entrusted the car for secure parking (in which case it would be inappropriate and you wouldn't get a tip but I certainly wouldn't have you arrested)?
This is what makes the difference and is why the blanket rules against grey-hat hacking are wrong.
A blanket rule "never look under the hood" might mean there was something wrong with the car that the manufacturer didn't want you to know. Not allowing individuals with harmless intent to examine something indicates something else is wrong and maybe the provider of the goods doesn't want you to find it out.
Would I trust the manufacturer of a car that takes people to court for examining flaws in the engine without THEIR authorization? No way!
Though it DOES make a great deal of difference to your insurance company. Which is why all cars for which theft claims are filed have always been diligenty locked.
It was that or "when are they going to port NetBSD to it?"
mod me down, put me out of my misery
And Cheech and Chong's Big Bambu came with an extra large sized rolling paper. Took 3 "lids" (that's ounces of marijuana) to fill it up
Those were the days....
In hindsight, were there things happening in the days or weeks prior to your arrest that should have tipped you off that something was not right?
Apart from pirating software, are folks dealing with large scale warez also inclined to be involved in other illegal activities (I mean non-trivial ones)? As far as you saw (and are willing to admit) were there ties between this scene and other organized criminal activities? Did people who delivered warez also deal in coke on the side, for example? Would you, on a personal level, trust the other people in the warez business? Are they reasonable folks who happen to have an illegal side business, or are they generally not very reputable?
Privacy is what existed between the time people stopped believing God saw everything they did and the time the government saw an opportunity.