, SecurityFocus 2002-02-26
How open proxies and default passwords led to Adrian Lamo padding his rolodex with information on 3,000 op-ed writers, from William F. Buckley Jr. to Jimmy Carter.
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New York Times Internal Network Hacked
, SecurityFocus 2002-02-26 How open proxies and default passwords led to Adrian Lamo padding his rolodex with information on 3,000 op-ed writers, from William F. Buckley Jr. to Jimmy Carter.
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2. SS #s are commonly the key to stealing someone's identity and looting their bank acounts, committing other ghastly crimes. Should one of the Times' Op-Ed contributors be so abused, would not the Times be liable for failing to protect that extremely important number?
3. Even if the hacker were liable, the Times owuld share some--possibly most--of the blame for having been negligent. It's well understood in law that the degree of protection against misuse has to have some relationship to the potential for damage.
4. Moreover, what is the liability of the Federal Government, which on the one hand insists (on your SS card) "Not to be used for purposes of identification" and at the same time requires SS#s on a great many forms? You can't even open a bank account without one.
5. This suggests that the possible issuance of individual citizen registration numbers--suggested as a way of keeping ID secure post 9/11--is going to be a waste of time and possibly worse.
6. Congratulations to Mr. Lamo.
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Link to this comment: http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/articles/342/10681#10681