full-disclosure - MyDoom.b samples taken down

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From: nick at virus-l.demon.co.uk (Nick FitzGerald)
Subject: MyDoom.b samples taken down

Ed Carp <erc@....kicks-ass.net> wrote:

> This is just so arrogant as to be unreal.  ...

First, I take it you don't me that well...

Second, therefore I take it that you support increasing the spread of 
viruses through encouraging inexpert fools to just have at it with 
virus binaries...

Repeating your opening comment:

> This is just so arrogant as to be unreal.  ...

Pot, kettle, black.

> ...  And how do you suppose those
> "experts" got to be that way?  ...

By experience -- 'tis commonly the difference between an "expert" and 
one less so...

But to pull this back to the issue I was dicussing, rather than the one 
you want to misrepresent it as, where in "is a reverse engineering 
expert, skilled in x86 assembly, DOS and Windows executable formats, 
system structures and internals, runtime decompression and decryption 
techniques, anti-debugging tricks and so on" does "and recklessly 
endangers the computing public by posting viral code on public web 
sites" fit into the job description of a virus analyst?

That is one of the differences between a _responsible_ virus analyst 
(regardless of their level of expertise) and what Daniel did.

You wouldn't want us to be seen to "fuelling the problem" to ensure we 
have a job would you??

> ...  You wouldn't happen to work in the field,
> would you, Nick?

So?

Vested interest?  Nope -- analysing these things day in day out can be 
exceedingly dull much of the time, so having good "fresh blood" enter 
the industry via the malware analyst route is a good thing.  However, 
we will not compromise the ethical standards built up over many years, 
so folk tempted to do what Danial has and thinking of doing this kind 
of work professionally should think again as they will hard-pressed to 
find well-paid work in a major company if they have a history of 
pulling stunts such as Daniel's...

-- 
Nick FitzGerald
Computer Virus Consulting Ltd.
Ph/FAX: +64 3 3529854