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Re: (Fwd) news spoke



>Forwarding Design-L mail by: <[email protected]> () on
(by John Young)
>_________________________________________________________________
>___________  UNIX(r) System V Release 4.0 (gold.tc.umn.edu)
>
>This system is for the use of authorized account holders only.
>
>Individuals using this computer system without authority, or in
>excess  of their authority, are subject to having all of their
>activities on  this system monitored and recorded by system
>personnel.
>
>In the course of monitoring individuals improperly using this
>system,  or in the course of routine system maintenance, the
>activities of  authorized account holders may also be
>monitored.
>
>Anyone using this system expressly consents to such monitoring
>and is  advised that if such monitoring reveals possible
>evidence of criminal  activity, system personnel may provide
>the evidence gathered to law  enforcement officials.

This text is taken almost verbatim from CERT Advisory CA-92:19.  The idea
behind it is to protect systems operators from lawsuits if they monitor the
keystrokes of a hacker breaking into their system.  It's quoted in Cheswick
and Bellovin's _Firewalls_and_Internet_Security_ (a totally cool book BTW).

They quote from the case _United States_v._Seidlitz_ 589 F.2d 152 (4th Cir.
1978) where the defendant claimed that keystroke monitoring of his attempt
to break into OSI's computer constituted an illegal wiretap.  The judge
blew him off, of course.

If you're worried that this boiler plate legalese gives them carte blanche
to listen in on your IRC sessions on #bondage, then forget it.  It
(_probably_) doesn't.

--
Man! Woman! Child! All! are up against the WALL of SCIENCE!
<[email protected]>
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