Re: [8lgm]-Advisory-14.UNIX.SCO-prwarn.12-Nov-1994

[rwing!pat () ole cdac com (Pat Myrto)]

"In the previous message, Alan Hannan said..."
> [ ... extract of useless 'alert' deleted ... ]
>
>   Not to be harsh, but the flow of information is still there, only now it 
> goes only to those who use it poorly.  Knowledge is power, and right now, all
> of these are known by a certain segment, and not known by another...  Which
> segment do you think needs to know more? 

Why, of course it is the self-appointed 'Chosen Few Who Are Our Protectors', in
their Ivory Towers!  They are the ones who, through their elite status,
are qualified to make all our decisions for us, those Who Know Best What
is Right for the rest of us mere mortals...  Those who decide what sites
are worthy of good info, and what ones are not....


NOT.


Like you said, information is power.  And Ivory Tower types do NOT like
power in the hands of anybody but themselves.  They think nobody but
themselves are qualified (betcha you would hear them REALLY squack if
the info blackout denied THEM info, too).

If this is going to be the flavor of 8lgm-cum-CERT clone, I just as soon
they would go away.  One CERT is plenty, thank you.  A dozen no-information
'alerts' are only a taunt, as I see it.  Might be amusing to some
(especially the cracker bunch), to see the rest of us frustrated for
good info, but I ain't laughing.  I wonder if they have sanitized their
archives into utter uselessness, as well?

In fact, they may well be COUNTER-productive:  The cracker, with nothiing
but time on his hands (and those of his buddies), eventually figures
out the hole and makes an exploit for it (they often have little else
to do).  The legit working admin, with NO time on his hands, trying to
keep systems under attack sane, gets screwed (as usual).  Gotta remember,
the site with net access has a massively greater level of exposure by
virtue of that access - especially if they are a public access site - than
the private office site with no outside access.   I have yet to see any
suggestion to ensure they get timely information.  Perhaps the idea
is to make sure they DON'T...

And the Ivory Tower Obscurity/cloak-and-dagger advocates continue to
pontificate, safe that THEY have the info denied to the rest of us while
OTHER sites get broken into and compromised...  Thanks a lot, Obscurity
folks - fer NUTHIN'.

Sounds a lot like how government bureaucrats operate in recent times,
doesn't it?

Lets see some of the same stuff the Obscurity folks ask of us:  Verifiable
evidence that their assertions are indeed valid, rather than just
potification.
-- 
pat@rwing  [If all fails, try:  rwing!pat () eskimo com]  Pat Myrto - Seattle WA
"No one has the right to destroy another person's belief by demanding
empirical evidence."  --   Ann Landers, nationally syndicated advice columnist
and Director at Handgun Control Inc.