LINUX SECURITY --- May 29, 2001 Published by ITworld.com -- changing the way you view IT http://www.itworld.com/newsletters __________________________________________________________________________ ______ HIGHLIGHTS * How you handle a security breach can have further reaching consequences than you may immediately realize. __________________________________________________________________________ ____ A Needless Tragedy By Rick Johnson The ultimate goal of a security professional is simple -- keep the bad guys from doing harm. Part of this, of course, is making sure that if caught, the evildoers are deterred from trying it again. You contact their ISP, employer, or even the authorities to do your part to help rid the world of the dregs of society. It's a black and white decision. Simply good and evil. Well, I heard about a story recently that made me realize that maybe there are exceptions to the rule. 13-year-old Shinjan Majumder honed his computer programming skills at an age when most children have not learned to type. He earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do with less than four years of training. As a swimmer, he excelled in the breaststroke. In the school orchestra, he played the violin. Shinjan's parents hoped those accomplishments only marked the beginning for the young man who aspired to take his martial arts skills to the Olympics and study computers in college like his older brother, Rangan. Shinjan will never make it to college. In May of this year, he took his own life at age thirteen. He hung himself in his family home hours after being suspended from Grover Middle School in New Jersey, USA. He was suspended for ten days after allegedly hacking into the school district's computer systems. It's been reported that the youngster had no previous history of depression The boy's father alleges that the school principal told Shinjan during a disciplinary meeting that he could go to prison for his offenses. School authorities deny this and said they were talking about the penalties an adult might receive for similar offenses. According to his mother, Shinjan left a note saying he would rather die than go to jail. In his note, he also expressed his love for his parents. His father said that he did not seem distraught when he left him at home after his suspension interview and, under the circumstances, knowing what was going through the boy's mind at the time of his death is difficult. He was like so many of us were while growing up. Extremely bright, excelled at things that interested him, and everyone always said he spent too much time in front of the computer. Moreover, like some of us, he chose to make stupid decisions and get into trouble. Whether it was boredom, a game, or a cry for attention, we will never know. A ten-day suspension and terrifying threats in my opinion is excessive when dealing with a thirteen-year old child who broke into a computer system. It's not as if he had a gun or was doing drugs. He did break the law and something needed to be done, but a bright kid with an incredible future ahead of him is not the type to respond to strong-arm tactics. Kids like this need someone to show them the positive ways to put his extensive computer knowledge to use. While it's too late for Shinjan, maybe the next time we come across a kid like him, we all might react a little differently. About the author(s) ------------------- Rick Johnson is currently involved in a number of projects, none of which he can discuss at this time. Aren't non-disclosure agreements wonderful? When not involved with those, he heads the development team for PMFirewall, an Ipchains Firewall and Masquerading Configuration Utility for Linux. Rick can be contacted via email at rick@pointman.org or on the web at http://www.pointman.org. __________________________________________________________________________ ______
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