The Null Device

Security through obscurity: Worried about the FBI's crypto-busting email worms? Hoping that your anti-virus software will detect it? Forget it. Anti-virus software company McAfee has made a commitment to turn a blind eye to the FBI "Magic Lantern" worm. Of course, once evil crackers figure out how to make their worms look like the good, legal FBI worm, and thus slip under the radar of antivirus software, all hell will break loose. Meanwhile, someone will undoubtedly develop software for detecting FBI worms (for example, one of the many brilliant, under-employed ex-KGB hackers that Russia is reportedly teeming with), and no credible mafioso will be caught dead without it. And even if possession of worm detector software that doesn't step aside on the FBI's command is outlawed in the US (which sounds like a law some neo-Stalinist dictatorship would think up, but nonetheless looks increasingly plausible with each passing day), we all know what law-abiding types organised criminals and terrorists are, don't we?

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Posted by: Scott Miller http:// Sat Dec 1 02:40:34 2001

Network Associates (McAfee's leash holder) has been all too willing to play footsie with Plod for years, from volunteering to pioneer key escrow to compromising PGP. When Viruscan stops working because of their shennanigans, they will pay dearly in lost business. At least, so one hopes. In the meantime, Rubberhose and m-o-o-t offer some prospective relief. I hope someone shoves Larry Ellison's national id card up his oracle, er, orifice, too. "When encryption is outlawed, only outlaws will have encryption". Works for guns, too:)