Darn! They publicized a great spoof!
No, what CERT did was to illegally reveal a technique developed by law enforcement, for the "LEAF" field (Law Enforcement Audio Field):
The CERT Coordination Center has learned of several vulnerabilities affecting Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun) operating systems. Three ... III. /dev/audio Vulnerability
This vulnerability affects all Sun systems with microphones. This includes all versions of SunOS 4.1.x including 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3, ... A. Description
/dev/audio is set to a default mode of 666. There is also no indication to the user of the system that the microphone is on.
B. Impact
Any user with access to the system can eavesdrop on conversations held in the vicinity of the microphone.
This was all built-in to SunOS as part of the "Voice Escrow System." RCA developed the special "Nipper" chip for the audio portion, DEC handle the file transfer part with the "Pipper" chip, The Navy did their part with the "Flipper" chip, and the whole thing was overseen oby the Reagan Administration as the "Gipper Program." Currently the "Data Superhighway" version is being supervised by Al Gore and his wife, hence the "Tipper" chip. --Tim -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^756839 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. Note: I put time and money into writing this posting. I hope you enjoy it.