[9948] in www-talk@info.cern.ch
Re: Article on JAVA security problems // Class-action lawsuit possible?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Paul Phillips)
Tue May 7 02:11:33 1996
Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 23:06:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: Paul Phillips <paulp@cerf.net>
To: www-talk@w3.org
In-Reply-To: <199605070450.VAA20949@netcom21.netcom.com>
Resent-From: www-talk@w3.org
On Mon, 6 May 1996, Niels P. Mayer wrote:
> Any lawyers out there know what it would take to get a class-action
> lawsuit against Netscape and Sun Microsystems for recklessly
> endangering the data and security of clueless Netscape Navigator users?
I most seriously doubt that you will garner much support from the net
community for such an ill-advised proposition. The US government has
done far more to impede secure execution of downloaded code by resisting
the spread of strong cryptography than Netscape and Sun can do combined.
There is already too much litigation being threatened to "solve" what
are essentially technical problems. Don't add to it.
Some people won't be happy until we have an FDA equivalent for software.
Let's require seven years of testing and millions of dollars before anyone
can release code with security implications. Wheee.
How about encouraging people to be aware of what they are doing, instead?
The problems with Java aren't exactly well-kept secrets, regardless of how
forthcoming Netscape and Sun have been. True, they ought to make a bigger
issue of it; vote with your dollars, if you feel strongly enough.
--
Paul Phillips | "Click _here_ if you do not
<URL:mailto:paulp@cerf.net> | have a graphical browser"
<URL:http://www.cerf.net/~paulp/> | -- Canter and Siegel, on
<URL:pots://+1-619-558-3789/is/paul/there?> | their short-lived web site
