Am I A Criminal? Maybe!
According to an amendment to The Computer Misuse Act (UK), my article Recovering Your Lost Passwords could be a criminal offense!
Why? Because, according to the article Computer Misuse Act could ban security tools by OUT-LAW.COM:
The new Act will make a person guilty of an offence “if he supplies or offers to supply any article believing that it is likely to be used to commit, or to assist in the commission of, [a hacking offence].” The word “article” is defined in the Act to include “any program or data held in electronic form”.
They go on to say:
“This applies particularly to dual use tools like nmap, which security professionals use to check if a network is insecure or not and which the bad guys use to scan for insecurities to then attack it,” said Richard Clayton, a member of digital rights group the Open Rights Group and a security researcher at Cambridge University. “Distributors of this have to decide if the people getting it from them are the good guys or the bad guys.”
Essentially, I have no way of knowing how people are going to use the information that I put on this blog. It is my hope that people will use it to get themselves out of a jam. But, I am not naive enough to believe that there are not people out there that will take and use this information for the wrong purposes. I have no control over that.
It sounds like this law takes the position that any information that could potentially be misused should not be allowed. Warning! Warning! The next thing we know, they will make it illegal to learn to drive because you could use a car to run someone over! (OK. I know that is a bit extreme but you get my point!)
If you found this post useful, why don't you buy me a cup of coffee to show your gratitude?
3 Responses to “Am I A Criminal? Maybe!”
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The Fieldhouse Says:
November 30th, 1999 at 12:00 amDCoT Exclusive: CyberDefender InterviewNike+iPod=StalkerSpyware Removal Resource50 Ways to Celebrate Computer Security DayThe Six Dumbest Ideas in Computer SecurityThis Hacker NOT for Hire!Learn To Secure Vista Before You DeployAm I A Criminal? Maybe!Open Source Security Proxy UpdatedHowTo Retrieve Lost PasswordsYou Don’t Want To Be On This Top 20 List…No Phishing Allowed!China Attempts To Protect Children From InternetThis Is Why Data Security Is So Important
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Rob Dunn Says:
November 22nd, 2006 at 8:52 amGuns don’t kill people, people kill people.
Free speech anyone? Just because we post information on certain subjects doesn’t mean we should be held responsible for misuse of said information! This very information allows software vendors to secure their software in an expedient manner (look at www.eeye.org).
As an example, if you publish an article on nmap, then I can follow the information and run the tool against my own network to find out what a potential hacker might see, thereby enabling me to fully secure my network.
This information will exist, whether on the up-and-up, or underground. No bill or law will be able to control it. I hope that this thinking doesn’t emigrate to the US.
Thanks for the info!
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Tim Fehlman Says:
November 22nd, 2006 at 9:58 amPreach it, Brother!
Tim
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nuke gingrich Says:
November 22nd, 2006 at 9:37 pmSo, by linking your story, I’m an accessory to the crime.
Somehow, I don’t think my mother-in-law will be too surprised…heh. Happy thanksgiving, Tim.
>nuke
