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Cisco's Hacker Muzzle Backfires
Researchers spend weekend digging into flaw
Last week Cisco tried to muzzle - and filed suit against - a security researcher who exposed a flaw in Cisco routers at a Las Vegas Hacking Convention. The researcher didn't give the full details of the flaw, but other researchers spent the weekend huddled in a hotel trying to flesh out the details of the vulnerability from the information given. As Techdirt points out, it's the "Streisand Effect" in action: the more you try to hide something, the more attention it's certain to get.

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G_Poobah
join:2004-01-17
Schenectady, NY

2 recommendations

G_Poobah

Member

Are they 'good' or 'bad' hackers

Actually, they are neither. Why should a big business, who sells a product with a security flaw, have ANY more rights than someone who finds and exposes that flaw? What, are we dealing with 2 classes of citizens, i.e. 'the corporation' which must be protected by laws and senators, vs. the individual, who has none of those protections.

Personally, if a security exploit is found, I feel the person who found it is under ZERO obligation to 'sweep it under the rug'. Giving the company some time (not much, some) is a moral middle ground.

For those who argue that the company has ANY right to muzzle ANYONE about the security of their product, remember this. Stalin used the same tactic, in the interest of 'protecting the motherland' to suppress anyone who opposed him. Are we so shortsighted to not see that every person in this country has the right, no, I would say the OBLIGATION, to question any government/corporation that seeks to silence us? What gives ANYONE the right to oppress free speech? Is this part of the patriot act? is this part of homeland security? Is this some sort of moral code by god that prevents us from saying what we think?

If Cisco wanted to silence him, then they should have *laugh* tried to sue under libel. But since what he was saying was 100% true, that wouldn't go anywhere. So where is this magic 'right' to silence someone coming from?