Simon Hobson wrote:
Jim Preston wrote:
According to this reasoning, I know of website that consistently
causes browsers to shut down. This website is a legitimate business
site, Should this site be prosecuted under this law?
In response to your example, that was a DOS attack and is illegal.
Microsoft updates have causes systems including servers to fail and
crash, should you be petitioning to have Microsoft prosecuted under
this law?
Yes if done maliciously.
There is a gulf of difference between sending out an update which is
unintentionally faulty, and sending one out which is deliberately
created to cause problems. For the MS updates that install the remote
shutdown capability, MS did ask before installing it (at least on my
machine) - though I have to say they misdescribed it so as not to
reveal it's true purpose. And yes, I did complain to our authorities,
but "they had bigger fish to fry" would fairly neatly sum up their
interest.
If a website is regularly crashing browsers, then again, is it an
unintended consequence of something innocent they are doing, or is it
a malicious act ? If the former then no offence, if the latter then
it's illegal over here.
In the words of the ClamAV project "Starting from 15 April 2010 our
CVD will contain a special signature which disables all clamd
installations older than 0.95"
So you have zero defence - this was a deliberate act, it was done
with malice aforethought, it was done with the full knowledge that
admins would not have expected this as an AV update, and it was done
with full cogniscence of the likely outcome. I'm fairly certain that
would count under UK law as a criminal act.
Like I said, I'm not going to get in a froth about it, and I decided
yesterday not to raise it. But since someone else has, and you've
poo-poo'd that as well ...
And the system owner / admins have no responsibility to ensure their
systems are properly configured? Over here, if I step out into traffic
and get hit it is my fault. Same if I do not take the proper precautions
to ensure the computers I am responsible do not perform the way they are
supposed to.
And although I bet there will be investigations into the legality of the
process, I think it will be a waste of tax payer funding.
Jim
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