From: Mark Eckenwiler <eck@panix.com>
To: frantz@netcom.com (Bill Frantz)
Message Hash: 9446a0244f66ef63656510bb42fcca835b370cc87258508800c1a933de275e5f
Message ID: <199604231749.NAA09020@panix.com>
Reply To: <199604231714.KAA14970@netcom9.netcom.com>
UTC Datetime: 1996-04-24 03:31:15 UTC
Raw Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1996 11:31:15 +0800
From: Mark Eckenwiler <eck@panix.com>
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1996 11:31:15 +0800
To: frantz@netcom.com (Bill Frantz)
Subject: Re: Bernstein ruling meets the virus law
In-Reply-To: <199604231714.KAA14970@netcom9.netcom.com>
Message-ID: <199604231749.NAA09020@panix.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain
Bill Frantz sez:
+
+ If lawmakers are to come up with a rational law, a big if, they will have
+ to differentiate between a bug in a "tame" worm which lets it get loose as
+ a virus, and a virus which was meant to be destructive from the get go.
+ And then they will have to decide what to do about the virus that was
+ designed to write, "Hi Mom!" on as many screens as possible with no
+ malicious damage, and bugs in it.
18 USC 1030(a)(5) makes such a distinction, treating intentional harm
more severely than releasing a virus "with reckless disregard of a
substantial and unjustifiable risk" of harm. The latter is only a
misdemeanor; the former, a felony.
The statute didn't always make this distinction. In fact, it was the
RTM case -- brought under the former felony-only version of the
statute -- that inspired the 1994 amendment dividing the offense into
two separate offenses.
--
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darueber muss man schreiben.
Mark Eckenwiler eck@panix.com
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