RE: (illegal?) Informing Companies about security vulnerabilities...

From: Arian J. Evans (arian.evans@anachronic.com)
Date: Thu Oct 05 2006 - 18:02:49 EDT


 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: listbounce@securityfocus.com
> [mailto:listbounce@securityfocus.com] On Behalf Of Levenglick, Jeff

> Proof that -He knows that he did.
> Because he is teaching a class on security he should know it
> is illegal

What, exactly, is illegal about it?

I see people keep saying this, but no meat to the comments.

Maybe, perhaps, this is defined by HTML tags in some courts?

<b> is legal but <script> is not? How about hex html encoding?
Or what do you consider XSS testing?

I submit what is legal has nothing to do with these things,
in the US, and to a lesser degree, the UK laws. I do not
know unfortunately enough about EU laws to comment.

Someone said you have to see sensitive data to validate SQL
injection, which is a naïve statement. In certain cases, say
using MS tsql queries, I can tell quite easily if I can inject
SQL by terminating the query using: ;--

Some simply with: '

That is SQL syntax. That is SQL Injection. That does not expose
any sensitive data, and is also, evidently, valid input.

Did I hack? Is it illegal?

Please. The real threat is the injury & impact lawsuit from
a misguided entity with deep pockets, not the criminal courts.

</mindless_speculations>

-ae

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