Security Basics mailing list archives
RE: Cyber attacks "escalating" on irresponsible Tavis Ormandy disclosure
From: "Murda" <murdamcloud () bigpond com>
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:34:37 +1000
As long as he doesn't know about a vulnerabilty, he's totally
in the dark, This makes me wonder about the quality of our knowledge on things that we don't know(sounds stupid and paradoxical but just think about it for a few minutes). It reminds me of Rumsfeld's 'known unknowns and unknown unknowns'. Which is a strangely insightful thing to say-even if it does sound illogical(it is actually very logical). Discovering vulnerabilities has something incremental in its process as much as it has elements of serendipity and luck associated with it. Hackers(wearing white/black/grey or Joseph's Technicolour hats) often do some tinkering and find something unusual and interesting. So perhaps vendors and developers need to be more aware of the limits of their knowledge of their own software and of the processes that they use to create that software. And disclosures of vulnerabilities are a stark reminder of that. -----Original Message----- From: listbounce () securityfocus com [mailto:listbounce () securityfocus com] On Behalf Of Ansgar Wiechers Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2010 6:10 AM To: security-basics () securityfocus com Subject: Re: Cyber attacks "escalating" on irresponsible Tavis Ormandy disclosure On 2010-07-06 fyne_ugo () yahoo com wrote:
Vulnerabilities shouldn't be disclosed publicly. Its only hackers that would benefit from them.
That's just plain and utterly wrong. As John Morrison pointed out: once a system administrator becomesaware of a vulnerability, he can take steps to mitigate the vulnerability or its effects, even if can't fix it myself. As long as he doesn't know about a vulnerabilty, he's totally in the dark, which is a lot less likely for The Bad Guys(tm).
There should be bodies that will follow up and check them.
Who are these "bodies" supposed to be? Apparently not vendors, since they'd rather threaten researchers than fix their own screw-ups: <http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Security-expert-once-more-threat ened-with-arrest-for-giving-talk-1034373.html> Regards Ansgar Wiechers -- "All vulnerabilities deserve a public fear period prior to patches becoming available." --Jason Coombs on Bugtraq ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Securing Apache Web Server with thawte Digital Certificate In this guide we examine the importance of Apache-SSL and who needs an SSL certificate. We look at how SSL works, how it benefits your company and how your customers can tell if a site is secure. You will find out how to test, purchase, install and use a thawte Digital Certificate on your Apache web server. Throughout, best practices for set-up are highlighted to help you ensure efficient ongoing management of your encryption keys and digital certificates. http://www.dinclinx.com/Redirect.aspx?36;4175;25;1371;0;5;946;e13b6be442f727 d1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Securing Apache Web Server with thawte Digital Certificate In this guide we examine the importance of Apache-SSL and who needs an SSL certificate. We look at how SSL works, how it benefits your company and how your customers can tell if a site is secure. You will find out how to test, purchase, install and use a thawte Digital Certificate on your Apache web server. Throughout, best practices for set-up are highlighted to help you ensure efficient ongoing management of your encryption keys and digital certificates. http://www.dinclinx.com/Redirect.aspx?36;4175;25;1371;0;5;946;e13b6be442f727d1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current thread:
- Re: Cyber attacks "escalating" on irresponsible Tavis Ormandy disclosure, (continued)
- Re: Cyber attacks "escalating" on irresponsible Tavis Ormandy disclosure andrew.wallace (Jul 05)
- Re: Cyber attacks "escalating" on irresponsible Tavis Ormandy disclosure Al MailingList (Jul 05)
- RE: Cyber attacks "escalating" on irresponsible Tavis Ormandy disclosure Murda (Jul 06)
- Re: Cyber attacks "escalating" on irresponsible Tavis Ormandy disclosure John Morrison (Jul 06)
- Re: Cyber attacks "escalating" on irresponsible Tavis Ormandy disclosure murdamcloud (Jul 07)
- Re: Cyber attacks "escalating" on irresponsible Tavis Ormandy disclosure Jeffrey Walton (Jul 06)
- Re: Cyber attacks "escalating" on irresponsible Tavis Ormandy disclosure Jacky Jack (Jul 07)
- Re: Cyber attacks "escalating" on irresponsible Tavis Ormandy disclosure fyne_ugo (Jul 07)
- Re: Cyber attacks "escalating" on irresponsible Tavis Ormandy disclosure iamherevivek (Jul 07)
- Re: Cyber attacks "escalating" on irresponsible Tavis Ormandy disclosure Ansgar Wiechers (Jul 07)
- RE: Cyber attacks "escalating" on irresponsible Tavis Ormandy disclosure Murda (Jul 13)
- Re: Cyber attacks "escalating" on irresponsible Tavis Ormandy disclosure andrew.wallace (Jul 05)