On Mon, 22 Apr 1996, Bruce Marshall wrote:
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 08:50:21 -0500 (CDT) From: Bruce Marshall <brucem@wichita.fn.net> Subject: Re: Bernstein ruling meets the virus law
On Sat, 20 Apr 1996, Steve Reid wrote:
In Canada, there is a law that makes "unauthorized use of computing resources" illegal. That makes both hacking and malicious virus spreading illegal with one law, without making it illegal to share virus information and source code.
Several other countries have very similiar laws. However, I had heard a somewhat unproven rumor that a U.S. state had actually made the writing of programs with malicious purposes illegal. Basically meaning that if you write a virus you have committed a crime. Like I said though, this was just a statement in a message so I can't vouch for the accuracy.
But, define "malicious purpose." One man's low-level format is another man's desired application of the moment. I hate to paraphrase a tired line, but "self-replicating programs don't hurt computers - mean people do." The term "virus" connotes a pathogenic quality in the mind of many. Unfortunately, this tendency continues in the use of the word 'virus' within our community. While I understand that "intent" is something with which lawyers have to contend when they defend or prosecute a case, I don't think that the notion of intent to commit harm extrapolates correctly into the field of virus writing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Liberty is truly dead |Mark Aldrich | | when the slaves are willing |GRCI INFOSEC Engineering | | to forge their own chains. |maldrich@grci.com | | STOP THE CDA NOW! |MAldrich@dockmaster.ncsc.mil | |_______________________________________________________________________| |The author is PGP Empowered. Public key at: finger maldrich@grci.com | | The opinions expressed herein are strictly those of the author | | and my employer gets no credit for them whatsoever. | -------------------------------------------------------------------------