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From: Terry Lambert <terry@lambert.org>
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.development.system,comp.os.linux.misc,comp.os.linux.networking,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc
Subject: Re: need secure OS to entrust millions to
Date: 24 Feb 1996 19:35:25 GMT
Organization: Utah Valley State College, Orem, Utah
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Message-ID: <4gnp9t$i5h@park.uvsc.edu>
References: <4gi6t6$3h9@lace.colorado.edu> <312D2029.FF6D5DF@freebsd.org> <4gmf5l$mel@news.bu.edu>
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mi@aldan.bu.edu (Mikhail Teterin) wrote:
>
> Honorable Jordan K. Hubbard
> wrote on Feb 22, 1996 (in article <312D2029.FF6D5DF@freebsd.org>):
>
> =Don't get me wrong, I think that free operating systems are great
> =(obviously) and perfectly wonderful for many things, but secure cash
> =transactions and running life support systems are not the kinds of
> =things I'd entrust to them, if only for pure legal liability reasons.
>
> There must be something wrong with the country, if decisions
> are made "for pure legal liability reasons"...
Yes, it must mean we have no moral foundation!
Wait! Let's legislate morality!
Then people will be moral because of the legal liability!
Point of the matter is, legal liability is one of the risk
factors you have to consider when making a business decision.
] Do not forget, BTW, about recent break-in to Citibank computers by
] a guy from Russia. I do not think Citibank was using Linux (or
] FreeBSD).
So far, this looks like an attempt at urban legend creation.
I haven't seen a real report on this. I did see a quite
inappropriate posting to the -curent mailing list *claiming*
that such a break-in had occurred. On the other hand, this
could have been part of a plot to damage Citibank ...as long
as we are indirectly referencing postings about plots, like
the one which made the claim.
If one were paranoid, one might construe the subject as a
targetting mechanism for memetic broadcast.
When anyone starts making claims and presumes unproven premises,
you have to wonder if the claims are a subtext and the premises
are the real intended message.
For instance, the "Aliens meet with Bill Clinton" claim (one of
my very favorites) presumes the existance of aliens. When you
question it, you say "they did not" -- the "they" reference is
tacit acceptance of the premise.
I refuse to accept your assumed premise that Citibank was in
any way compromised without independent confirmation.
Regards,
Terry Lambert
terry@cs.weber.edu
---
Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present
or previous employers.