Re: This crap needs to stop

[Paul Schmehl <pauls () utdallas edu>]

--On Monday, November 28, 2005 18:33:13 -0500 Eliah Kagan 
<degeneracypressure () gmail com> wrote:
> Todd is right.
>
> It is important to differentiate between maliciousness and a really
> embarrassing error. Sony *wrote* a rootkit for the purpose of cracking
> into their customers' systems to force their customers to act in a way
> more profitable to Sony, and to spy on their customers. It was not a
> mistake.
Well, that's not what I said, but doesn't a company have a responsibility 
to virus-check any software they ship *before* they ship it?  It's not like 
this is something so new that a normal check wouldn't have found it.

And isn't the *effect* on the end user the same?  Yes, the motivation was 
perhaps different, but how does that matter to the customer whose computer 
is now trojaned?  Does "we didn't mean to do it" excuse them?

Paul Schmehl (pauls () utdallas edu)
Adjunct Information Security Officer
University of Texas at Dallas
AVIEN Founding Member
http://www.utdallas.edu/ir/security/
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