Vulnerability Development: Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible

[Robert Collins <robert.collins () ITDOMAIN COM AU>]

IANAL. What's interesting is that this could open the way for a class
action in any country with a significant number of affected users...

Rob


----- Original Message -----
From: "Pavel Machek" <pavel () SUSE CZ>
To: <VULN-DEV () SECURITYFOCUS COM>
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2001 9:34 AM
Subject: Modern hw-killing virus feasible


> Hi!
>
>  Current DVD-regioning system provides *very* easy possibility for
>  virus to render hardware unusable. Current DVD-roms allow setting
>  DVD region for limited number of times.
>
>  Imagine virus, that switches DVD between japan-region and asia-region
>  as many times as it can. It would leave DVD locked either to japan or
>  asia, effectively making it unusable for european/us citizen.
>
>  Long time ago, rumors went that it is possible to kill harddrive by
>  software. Then, old monitors could be damaged by software by
>  missprograming them (but damage would take lot of time). Now DVDs
>  provide effective way for software making them unusable. Pretty sad.
>
>                                                                Pavel
>
> --
> I'm pavel () ucw cz  "In my country we have almost anarchy and I don't
care."
> Panos Katsaloulis describing me w.r.t. patents at
discuss () linmodems org
>