The Economist on Netscape "hackers"

[Raph Levien <raph@CS.Berkeley.EDU>]

   Looks like every cypherpunk's favorite newsweekly has slipped a
bit.

   This week's Economist (Oct 7-13, 1995, pp. 77-78) has a story about
banks getting on the Internet, and some of the security risks
involved. It's not _too_ bad, but, well, judge for yourself:

   "By far their biggest worry, however, is the threat posed by
computer hackers. In recent months, numerous defects have been
detected in the state-of-the-art Navigator program developed by
Netscape, the leading maker of Internet ``browsing'' software. Earlier
this year, a French hacker broke the program's code, albeit with the
help of 120 computers. Although Netscape claims that the glitches in
Navigator have now been smoothed out, their very existence has shaken
confidence. ..."

   Sigh. No mention of export restrictions (I wanted to add "of
course," but for the Economist it shouldn't be an "of course"). Shall
I write the letter to the editor, or does someone else want to? One
thing I'll need is a brief outline of Damien Doligez's acheivements to
support the idea that characterizing him as a "hacker" is not quite
right.

Raph (who's wondering if there's something inherent in the media
process that keeps them from getting their stories straight)