Re: Pentester convicted..

From: Mark Teicher (mht3@earthlink.net)
Date: Mon May 15 2006 - 08:49:24 EDT


Here is question, what is the risk factor or actual damage meter read when a security pen-tester conducts a modem security assessment ??

-----Original Message-----
>From: Art Cooper <acooper@pop.innerwall.com>
>Sent: May 12, 2006 2:07 PM
>To: Karyn Pichnarczyk <karyn@sandstorm.net>, acooper@innerwall.com
>Cc: pen-test@securityfocus.com
>Subject: Re: Pentester convicted..
>
>Well Karyn,
>
> As one who has been in IT for 28 years (Including Intel and IT for the US
>Air Force), and as one who also is published on the matter and has spent the
>last 10 years dedicating myself to Information Security, AND as on who has
>taught at two institutes of so-called "Higher Learning" part-time for many
>years, I will tell you that I say those things BECAUSE a University is
>involved. If you want to see politics, hysteria, and childish behavior on
>EVERY level, go teach. I have taught BS and MS level students, and the BS in
>College IT departments is unsurpassed!
>
>The fact this gentleman had "SOME" sort of realtionship with the University
>tells me there was an axe to grind by one side or the other. The University
>has more cloat and money, therefore they succeed and this gentleman "Sucks-
>Seed".
>
>I have also personally testified at sveral court proceedings concerning these
>very activities, and I can tell you that in 99% of the cases I was involved
>in, there was a "Witch Hunt" and a LOT more involved then we are getting from
>this article. Did he do wrong? YES - no doubt, but I feel the response you
>have made as to DAMAGE is inflated. Are you a lawyer? You sure sound like
>one..
>
>Regards,
>Coop
>
>Arthur B. Cooper Jr. "Coop"
>Senior Network Engineer
>Innerwall, Inc.
>http://www.innerwall.com
>acooper@innerwall.com
>
>"Most men lead lives of quiet desperation
> and go to the grave with the song still in them."
>* Henry David Thoreau *
>
>
>On On Fri, 12 May 2006 13:55:03 -0400, Karyn Pichnarczyk wrote
>> Let me list some actual damage. The company now knows that someone
>> who was not authorized, and did not have the best interests of the
>> company in mind (or else they would have contacted the company with
>> their findings, not the company's customers or journalists) had
>> access to basically Anything and Everything in their computer systems.
>>
>> Therefore, the Actual Damage is the re-evaluation of all systems, and
>> verification of all data on those compromised systems, to ensure that
>> the company's data has not been twiddled with/changed/modified.
>>
>> What assurance does the company have that this criminal (and yes,
>> it it criminal to break into a system without authorization) didn't
>> fiddle with the data, perhaps even putting in code that will either
>> cause the company to automatically send out payments to someone who
>> doesn't deserve them, or erase records of expected payments, etc.?
>> What if the criminal set up something on these computers to make it
>> appear as if the company itself was performing a criminal activity,
>> that will later cause the leaders of the company to be arrested?
>>
>> A defense of "I didn't do anything" does not lead much credence to
>> a criminal's testimony.
>>
>> It costs lots of money to pay employees (and likely expert
>> consultants as well) for their time to clean up and verify the
>> systems. And what if they aren't as diligent as the original
>> criminal thinks they should be? If something was planted by the
>> criminal, this Criminal can now come back and once again report to
>> the media and the company's customers that the cleanup was not done
>> properly. Thus the company has to spend more money being diligent
>> in their response.
>>
>> Money is Actual Damage, Mr. Cooper.
>>
>> Art Cooper wrote:
>>
>> > Because I BELIEVE there is a "LOT" more here than meets the eye.. I
>wonder
>> > if he took the evidence to the Univ. and they ignore him.. If so, then
>> > perhaps he had an axe to grind.. My point is this - what ACTUAL DAMAGE
>was
>> > caused? Most lawyers will tell you that you MUST prove there was malice
>and
>> > ACTUAL DAMAGE.
>
>
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Concerned about Web Application Security?
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you need to proactively protect your applications from hackers. Cenzic has the
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managed service (Cenzic ClickToSecure) or an enterprise software
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help you: http://www.cenzic.com/news_events/wpappsec.php
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