[Cialug] vote

[D. Joe Anderson]

On Wed, Nov 03, 2004 at 03:34:54PM -0600, Chris Hilton wrote:
> I'm well aware of [...] the Patriot Act.

Are you?

> The Patriot Act has no direct problem with OSS that I can see; I don't
> see how it would hamper the development of free software.  
> While I understand the political dangers of the Patriot Act, the odds of
> it directly affecting you seem to be slim (unless there is some kind of
> nationwide internet activity snooping ordered by the President).

  The Impact of the USA Patriot Act on Network Security Practice --- Online Security - Intelligence Community Forum

  http://www.onlinesecurity.com/Community_Forum/Community_Forum_detail22.php

Intel's case against Randal Schwartz was devastating to him. 
Hard as it is to imagine anything worse in terms of the
punishment far exceeding the crime, the Patriot Act, as I read
this link, would have opened him to criminal (instead of just
devastating civil) penalties.

Or, in other words, be careful where you point that copy of
nessus or nmap, bub, it could land you in the slammer on a
felony conviction.  Don't get too curious about those boxes that
are hammering yours over the network--you get one toe over the
line, and congratulations, you are a "cyberterrorist".

-- 
Joe