Answer: Too many! Moral: Don't post to cypherpunks with a screwy mail {delivery,transport} agent. -Declan On Wed, Jul 25, 2001 at 06:55:01AM -0400, George@Orwellian.Org wrote:
[ my email is really fucked right now, gawd only knows how many copies this single transmission will result in. apologies in advance. ]
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB99601609210000000.htm # # July 25, 2001 # # FBI Cyber Researcher Unleashes Virus # That E-Mails Private Agency Documents # # By TED BRIDIS # Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL # # WASHINGTON -- A researcher in the Federal Bureau of Investiga # tion's cyber-protection unit unleashed a fast-spreading Internet # virus that e-mailed private FBI documents to outsiders -- all # on the eve of a Senate hearing into troubles at the unit. # # Although the Sircam virus didn't spread to other computers at # the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center, it did send # at least eight documents to a number of outsiders. One, about # the investigation into an unrelated virus, was marked "official # use only." The Sircam virus has infected thousands of computers # since its discovery last week. # # FBI spokeswoman Deb Weierman said that no sensitive or classified # information about continuing investigations was disclosed Tuesday. # The "official use" designation protects documents from disclosure # under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. # # It isn't uncommon for virus researchers to accidentally infect # their own computers, but the mistake was particularly embarrassing # because it occurred ahead of a Senate Judiciary panel's oversight # hearing about the FBI cyber unit's effectiveness. Lawmakers were # expected to focus on other agencies' failure to cooperate fully # with the FBI center, and on a perceived lack of trust between # the FBI and private-sector groups. # # The unit generally gets high remarks for its criminal # investigations, and even critics say the unit is more effective # than it was a year ago. "The effort here is not to embarrass # anybody but to stress that a lot of work has to be done," said # Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona. # # Meanwhile, the White House has begun organizing a new # early-warning network for Internet threats. But unlike the current # system, it will be coordinated by the Pentagon, not the FBI. # The mechanism for warning all U.S. military and civilian agencies # -- and ultimately corporations -- will be dubbed the Cyber-Warning # and Information Network, or "c-win." Organizers envision dozens # of computer centers that could sound an alert when a threat is # identified. # # The network is expected to begin operating in October. The FBI # unit, which currently relays these warnings, came under sharp # criticism from congressional auditors for issuing tardy alerts. # Ms. Weierman, the FBI spokeswoman, called the new network a # "useful mechanism" to offer the government a "technical capability # that doesn't currently exist." The FBI, she said, wasn't concerned # it would lose its warning responsibilities. # # Tuesday, at least three people said they received some of the # FBI documents, including a 23-year-old Internet-security expert # in Belgium, Niels Heinen. He operates a Web site that reports # on Internet break-ins and speculated that the analyst, Vince # Rowe, visited the site on the infected computer. Mr. Rowe didn't # respond to a request for comment.