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List:       firewalls-gc
Subject:    Legal Issues
From:       Tony Wege <wege () bc9000 ! bc ! PeachNet ! EDU>
Date:       1994-12-30 20:06:11
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Hi,
     I've only been lurking for a short time but I gather this is
     not off topic since the thread has been going for awhile. I
     am a political science type so my technical skills are limited
     but I do teach several public law courses so I may be able to
     make a cogent comment.
     It is true that liability with respect to `harboring hackers'
     is muddled to say the least and we are in the process of
     creating case law precedent so everything at this point is a
     matter of speculation. However, I think we can logically
     speculate that liability on the part of system administrators
     and their employers is not likely to be unlimited. There is
     something called a reasonableness standard that is basic in
     Anglo-American law that essentially argues that absent applicable
     statutes / case law acting reasonably in a given set of 
     circumstances is a defense for behavior. Reasonableness here being
     defined by a jury.
     The upshot is that systems administrators are unlikely to be
     required to go to extraordinary lengths to purge their accounts
     of possible hackers or other persons who may use the technology
     for illegal or unethical behavior. The courts will likely end
     up requiring system administrators to make some `reasonable'
     efforts to provide security on their systems so they are not
     misused. That is different however for saying they must provide
     perfect security.
     Anyway, thats my 0.02 cents worth.

     Regards,
     Tony

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