RE: Licensed Penetration Tester LPT

From: Steve Jensen (sjensen@jackhenry.com)
Date: Wed Apr 26 2006 - 16:30:00 EDT


Here's the link to the article: http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/399

It's ridiculous they would even consider this law though. I contacted my mother, who is an attorney in Texas with her opinion on the article, here's her feedback on it.

I think the example they gave was an isolated incident prompted by the irritated people in that case. Texas does have a law like that now, which has had several AG opinions issued to clarify it. There is no way that any testifying expert would ever be caught in this – you would have to be an attorney horse’s ass to even try and nobody would who was in their right mind. That is, if the expert were credentialed and no good lawyer would ever try to put on an expert who was not. The Daubert case has been law for a long time and is nothing new – it just was a final Supreme Court case on the issue that is now the by-word on challenging experts, but at least around here none of the Daubert motions are ever granted – they are just made for the record on appeal if necessary.
    
    The person who wrote the article is somewhat of an alarmist and one of those where a little knowledge is a dangerous thing – in your situation, if you are credentialed as a computer security person, whatever those credentials might ever be found to be, it is highly unlikely that any such thing would ever come up, assuming you are being reasonable in your findings and not off the wall. Missouri doesn’t have such a law anyway, to my knowledge.
    As far as just doing the investigation and providing information, what situation would arise where any such law, in a state where it exists, would be attempted to be enforced? It would have to be an extremely strange situation and probably one where someone highly placed was caught red-handed big time and is trying to use anything he can to wiggle out.

-----Original Message-----
From: Phil Frederick [mailto:flosofl@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 8:51 AM
To: pen-test@securityfocus.com
Subject: Re: Licensed Penetration Tester LPT

This is happening now. Georgia has pending legislation for forensic
examination of information systems. If you aren't licensed as an
Investigator in the state, you can be charged with a felony if the law
passes.

I can't find a link, but I swear I read this a couple days ago.
Anyone have any info, or was I hallucinating :)

On 4/25/06, v b <r0cketgrl@yahoo.com> wrote:
> All funning aside, this was included in a topic of a
> BoF at the recent ShmooCon held in DC. The speakers
> contended that unless the community becomes
> self-policing, there WOULD eventually be government
> legislation to license information security
> practitioners. Interesting theory. I like the idea
> of shipping all unlicensed practitioners to Lincoln.
> Could do wonders for that local economy. :-)
>
> Regards.
>
>
> --- Dogten <dogten@d3fcon.org> wrote:
>
> > Mark Teicher wrote:
> > > Why not license security engineers/gurus like they
> > do social workers, plumbers and doctors.
> > >
> > > Then after one gets everyone to comply, partner
> > with an insurance company to offer liability and
> > malpractice insurance to the licensed penetration
> > testers, just in case someone accidently shuts down
> > a life support system in a hospital as they are
> > scanning random Class 'C's on the internet or
> > hijacking root DNS servers in order to play audio
> > streams.
> > >
> > > For those who do not comply, set up Senate
> > hearings, and send out letters to those who do not
> > comply, "Are you an unlicensed penetration tester?"
> > If yes, please list all your friends, neighbors, etc
> > that may or may not be unlicense penetration
> > testers. Once they have rounded up all the non
> > complying penetration testers, escort them to local
> > train stations, and guide them onto the train, where
> > they will be taken to re-education camps in Lincoln,
> > Nebraska. --:)
> > >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > >
> > >> From: Dogten <dogten@d3fcon.org>
> > >> Sent: Apr 20, 2006 10:08 PM
> > >> To: Steve Friedl <steve@unixwiz.net>
> > >> Cc: pen-test@securityfocus.com
> > >> Subject: Re: Licensed Penetration Tester LPT
> > >>
> > >> Steve Friedl wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> If it's not from the government, it's not a real
> > license.
> > >>>
> > >> where does literary license come in? the media
> > certainly practices it
> > >> with impunity.
> > >>
> > >> --
> > >> -dogten, C�ISSP
> > >> _________________
> > >> Fight the power and the power will fight back
> > >> Your only as good as the system you hack
> > >> If you become a problem you will be replaced
> > >> Banned, shut down, erased !
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> >
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> > --
> > -dogten, C�ISSP
> > _________________
> > Fight the power and the power will fight back
> > Your only as good as the system you hack
> > If you become a problem you will be replaced
> > Banned, shut down, erased !
> >
> >
> >
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> Choice Award from eWeek. As attacks through web applications continue to rise,
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