CS 291 -- Week 10 Presentation

Computer Crime Presentation:

Edward Cheng

Reference:
Readings from Course syllabus, especially Spafford and Branscomb
Also: Knightmare, Secrets of a Superhacker

Introduction:
- My interests in this topic, importance of everyone's opinion
- Lot of attention recently -- Mitnick, Phiber Optic, Morris
- Focus on two main interrelated issues: Viruses and Security (break-ins)
Viruses:
- What penalties should be given? What is illegal? What is the best policy?
- Examples
  1. Internet worm: nondestructive except for eating memory, maybe unintentional, spreads by itself, "innocent" parties
  2. Pakistani brain: destructive, intentional, affects people guilty of copyright infringement, international ramifications
  3. Aldus Peace virus: nondestructive, benign, intentional, used to prove a point
- Legal definitions
  1. Herger: Computer Virus Eradication Act of 1989 -- "malicious program," too specific?
  2. MacMillan: Computer Protection Act of 1989 -- "willful sabotage," may include pranks
- Useful purposes for viruses
  1. Will legislation prevent them?
  2. Instant updating of software, parallel processing
  3. Use a virus to destroy a harmful one (Hebrew University and Friday the 13th virus.)
Computer Security and Hacking
- Information should be free, except some -- (Stallman). Privacy may result in a totalitarian police state, monitoring, etc.
- Use of break-ins to illustrate security problems --
  1. Knightmare -- Hacker's ethic
  2. Robert Morris defense
  3. Better ways of informing the public
- Idle system / Educational argument -- property ownership problem
- Should security problems with systems be disseminated
  1. Would it help or hinder hackers?
  2. Who are the appropriate parties?
Conclusion

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| Edward Cheng, Class of 1997     | "Politics is for       |
| Electrical Engineering  /       |   the moment, an       |
|      Woodrow Wilson School      |   equation is for      |
| Princeton University            |   eternity."           |
| edcheng@princeton.edu           |     -- Albert Einstein | 
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