[EMAIL PROTECTED] at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote on 9/29/03 2:27 PM ----- >>Well it looks like several addresses are there. Sender, etc. Why cannot >>they trace back to the original Sender and prosecute for knowingly sending >>a virus that has no other purpose but to impede communication, destroying >>information, computers etc.? > >There was only one time I know of, where the FBI and other agencies were >able to trace a virus through pure "forensics". You have to find the >"first instance" of infection. It is no different than finding the source >of ebloa. You would think, that with 50 years of occasional outbreaks, we >would certainly know where Ebola comes from, but we don't. It just pops >up, because the tracks of the first people who get it cannot be totally >traced. > >Same with Viruses. In the early days, yes, a virus writer would simply >email it out. Now that one has been caught, they are much smarter. They >embed viruses into music files, porn files, blogs, web pages, etc. Once >the infection starts, they are gone. > >In addition, they never use their own account for that first posting. For >instance, lets say I hack into a users AOL account by guessing the >password. I might NEVER use that account, except to launch my payload. >Totally untraceable. It is terrorism, just like the terorists we fight >around the world are doing. Both are very patient, and while most of the >"virus variants" are simple hacks of existing viruses, and those >perpetrators often caught, the original authors are almost never caught. >The authors also use teenage contacts who they never disclose themselves >to to further add to the murkiness. This is global espionage/sabotage. > >To the casual user, it would seem simple. This stuff has gotten much more >covert, with suspected virus writers including the Chinese military, >terrorists, Russian and east european espionage agents, German spys, and >more. Many of the people left over idle from the cold war are still >working, but found new paymasters, like the various mafias and other >criminal and terrorist organizations.
One thing I haven't seen mentioned in this thread is the culpability of the folks - mostly Microsoft, yes - who leave security holes that the little script kiddies and other criminals can use for their crimes. Jim DeWitt ------------------------------------------------------------- James D. DeWitt Voice: (907) 452-8986 Icicle Software Fax: (907) 452-7015 PO Box 72750 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fairbanks, Alaska 99707 http://www.iciclesoftware.com ------------------------------------------------------------- ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe send a mail message with a SUBJECT line of "unsubscribe" to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
