[free-sklyarov] Acrobat or Clown? (fwd)

[Pablos Kadrevis]

---------- Forwarded Message ----------
Date: Sunday, July 22, 2001 11:16 PM +1000
From: Newsom <jnewsom at ozemail.com.au>
To: "nicehair at boycottadobe.com" <nicehair at boycottadobe.com>
Subject: Acrobat or Clown?

Greetings and salutations

After seeing the Boycott Adobe web site and reading about the circumstances
around Mr Sklyarov's arrest, I was outraged at this insane law that
punishes people who are honest enough to publicize a design flaw in a
product rather than exploit it for personal gain. Imagine if Ford had been
able to sue for defamation those who claimed the Pinto was a rolling
barbecue...

Here, if you care to read, is the important bit of an email I shot off to
Adobe under the above subject line (NB laws vary due to jurisdiction).

"I will also advise that anyone paying for your security scheme who
subsequently finds their copyright breached may be entitled to sue Adobe
for damages under the Australian Consumer Protection Act.

It is important to remember that in a global market that where one person
can find a security hole, it is certain that others will find that hole,
and those less honest will exploit it; there are innumerable examples of
this. Shooting the messenger will actively discourage users from reporting
flaws that could eventually prove a liability for Adobe, which is fine if
having real security is a lower priority than being seen to have security
(or being seen to be litigious)."

Here's to a quick release for Mr Sklyarov, and a hope that these laws are
amended to protect those who hack for the public good (for consumer
protection).

T.J. Newsom

---------- End Forwarded Message ----------


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Pablos Kadrevis
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415.420.3806
www.shmoo.com/~pablos