137 lines
7.2 KiB
Plaintext
137 lines
7.2 KiB
Plaintext
Date: Tue, 2 Feb 93 11:03:18 PST
|
|
Reply-To: <surfpunk@osc.versant.com>
|
|
Return-Path: <cocot@osc.versant.com>
|
|
Message-ID: <surfpunk-0045@SURFPUNK.Technical.Journal>
|
|
Mime-Version: 1.0
|
|
Content-Type: text/plain
|
|
From: surfpunk@osc.versant.com (encvqyl vasrpgvat pbzchgref)
|
|
To: surfpunk@osc.versant.com (SURFPUNK Technical Journal)
|
|
Subject: [surfpunk-0045] VIRUS: MBDF-A students admit mistakes
|
|
Keywords: surfpunk, MBDF-A virus, immunity grant, sumex-aim, Eric Soroos
|
|
|
|
________________________________________________________________________
|
|
________________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
From: Gene Spafford <spaf@cs.purdue.edu>
|
|
Subject: MBDF students admit mistakes
|
|
Organization: SERC, Department of Computer Sciences, Purdue Univ.
|
|
|
|
This was sent to me by somebody in Ithaca:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Subject: MBDF students admit mistakes
|
|
|
|
[The Cornell Daily Sun, Monday, February 1, 1993]
|
|
|
|
Virus Students Admit They Made Mistakes
|
|
---
|
|
First Interviews Since Their Crimes
|
|
|
|
By Jeff Carmona
|
|
|
|
In a case that brought Cornell national media attention, two sophomores
|
|
were arrested last February and charged with creating and launching a
|
|
computer virus that crippled computers around the world.
|
|
Authorities later implicated a third Cornellian for releasing the
|
|
"MBDF-A" virus from Cornell Information Technologies' (CIT) Upson Lab onto a
|
|
public server at Stanford University.
|
|
But roughly a year after the original story broke, The Sun has learned
|
|
that a fourth student played a integral role in unleashing the virus, which
|
|
rapidly infected computers as far away as Japan and Wales.
|
|
|
|
Immunity Grant
|
|
Eric Soroos '94 was granted immunity in return for his grand jury
|
|
testimony against the other three students: David Blumenthal '94, Mark
|
|
Pilgrim '94 and Randall Swanson '94.
|
|
The revelation of Soroos' involvement came yesterday, when all four
|
|
former students agreed for the first time to be interviewed. None of the
|
|
students is currently registered at Cornell.
|
|
After pleading guilty to misdemeanor computer tampering charges in
|
|
September, Pilgrim and Blumenthal were each sentenced to 520 hours of
|
|
community service. Besides forfeiting their seized computer equipment, they
|
|
also had to pay over $2,000 in restitution to Cornell and other parties.
|
|
Pilgrim and Blumenthal are currently working to develop software for a
|
|
quadriplegic in Tennessee as part of their community service.
|
|
Although he was immune from criminal prosecution, Soroos said he was
|
|
surprised when the University used his testimony against him during academic
|
|
hearing board proceedings in the College of Engineering.
|
|
Confused and under intense pressure, Soroos said he provided authorities
|
|
with two statements that implicated himself and the three others in the
|
|
release of the virus, which caused undetermined damage to personal
|
|
computers.
|
|
"Otherwise, I probably would have gone down in flames," Soroos said,
|
|
noting that investigators promised the testimony could not be used against
|
|
him "in a court of law."
|
|
According to Soroos, the students launched the virus three separate times
|
|
last Feb. 14, but inadvertently left an "electronic paper trail" that
|
|
Cornell officials were able to trace within a few days.
|
|
"I wish I'd never been involved in it," Soroos said, adding that he was
|
|
"at the wrong place at the wrong time."
|
|
Soroos, who resides and works in Ithaca, said he intends to reapply to
|
|
Cornell next fall and hopes to pursue his civil engineering education.
|
|
Although Soroos downplayed his involvement with the virus, the other
|
|
students painted a different picture, alleging that Soroos escaped
|
|
punishment even though he may have been the only one to successfully
|
|
"upload" the virus onto the networks.
|
|
Blumenthal, Soroos' former roommate, said all four were present when the
|
|
virus was launched, but claimed that only Soroos sent the virus to the
|
|
"Sumex-Aim" public archive, from where it quickly spread.
|
|
The students did not realize the severity of the episode, Blumenthal
|
|
said, until they were interviewed by CIT officials several days later. "I
|
|
still maintain that I did not violate the laws," he said, calling his
|
|
actions "reckless, but not intentional."
|
|
Blumenthal, who is attending school in Wisconsin, said that by working
|
|
with the virus he "gained a great amount of insight into the Mac programming
|
|
system," adding, "It should have stopped there."
|
|
Pilgrim, who spoke from his home in Pennsylvania, said he also "learned a
|
|
lot" by writing the virus, which was embedded in three shareware games.
|
|
"I'm not sorry that I wrote it. ... Releasing it was stupid."
|
|
According to Pilgrim, Soroos was being investigated by CIT for unrelated
|
|
computer pranks and decided to cooperate with the District Attorney because
|
|
"he felt he should cover his ass."
|
|
"I hope this year's better than last one," Pilgrim concluded.
|
|
Both Pilgrim and Blumenthal criticized Cornell, alleging that the
|
|
University violated their civil rights on a number of occasions during the
|
|
investigation into the virus. They said their punishments were more severe
|
|
than their crimes.
|
|
M. Stuart Lynn, vice president for information technologies, defended the
|
|
University's handling of the incident, saying he "hopes it's a message" that
|
|
abusing computer privileges could have serious consequences.
|
|
Lynn said Pilgrim's claim that only Soroos launched the virus was
|
|
"absolute nonsense," citing evidence that proves the participation of all
|
|
four students.
|
|
"We hope they learn from their experience and grow and become productive
|
|
members of society," Lynn said. "It's time now to move on."
|
|
The four students were disciplined by the academic hearing boards in
|
|
their respective colleges. Although administrators contacted yesterday
|
|
would not elaborate on the students' punishment, a memorandum still posted
|
|
in Upson Lab indicates they suffered "expulsion and suspension for a year or
|
|
more."
|
|
The memo, written by College of Engineering Dean William Street and
|
|
addressed to all computer users, did not include names but said "last spring
|
|
four students were charged with violating the Code of Academic Integrity."
|
|
"Don't waste your talents and jeopardize your education by interfering
|
|
with the Cornell computing and network systems," the memo continued.
|
|
Street, also interviewed yesterday, said the four students "knew what
|
|
they were doing" and "caused a great many problems."
|
|
Street made the final decision regarding Cornell's discipline of three of
|
|
the students. Pilgrim, a member of the College of Arts and Science, faced a
|
|
different hearing board.
|
|
|
|
|
|
________________________________________________________________________
|
|
________________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
The SURFPUNK Technical Journal is a dangerous multinational hacker zine
|
|
originating near BARRNET in the fashionable western arm of the northern
|
|
California matrix. Quantum Californians appear in one of two states,
|
|
spin surf or spin punk. Undetected, we are both, or might be neither.
|
|
________________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
Send postings to <surfpunk@osc.versant.com>, subscription requests
|
|
to <surfpunk-request@osc.versant.com>. MIME encouraged.
|
|
Xanalogical archive access soon. Confusion to our enemies.
|
|
________________________________________________________________________
|
|
________________________________________________________________________
|
|
|