more on well worth reading djf Computer network security: "Symbi ot on the Rules of Engagement"

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

From: "sbaker () steptoe com" <sbaker () steptoe com>

Dave,

With respect, this is ridiculous.  Corporations are not governed by the laws
of war, no matter what the marketing director sometimes tells the sales
force.  They are governed by laws passed by governments, and our government
has passed the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, making it a crime to injure or
interfere with another computer.  I can't find an exception for Computers
That Lots of Us Think Are Doing Bad Things.  Maybe there should be such an
exception, but that's not the law.

No CIO who talks to his lawyer for five minutes is likely to implement an
automated retaliation system.

Of course, if Symbiot were selling a system that doesn't really retaliate at
all, if they were conjuring up all this military mumbo-jumbo to create buzz
for a pedestrian product ... Nah, that never happens in tech marketing.

Stewart Baker
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
1330 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
phone -- 202.429.6413
email fax -- 202.261.9825
main fax -- 202.429.3902
sbaker () steptoe com 

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