[147263] in North American Network Operators' Group
RE: [fyodor@insecure.org: C|Net Download.Com is now bundling Nmap
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Nathan Eisenberg)
Tue Dec 6 13:55:43 2011
From: Nathan Eisenberg <nathan@atlasnetworks.us>
To: "nanog@nanog.org" <nanog@nanog.org>
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2011 18:54:34 +0000
In-Reply-To: <1323196220.28950.YahooMailNeo@web162102.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
Errors-To: nanog-bounces+nanog.discuss=bloom-picayune.mit.edu@nanog.org
> It could be argued that Nmap is malware, and such software has already
> been called to be made illegal.
>=20
> If I was Cnet, I would stop distributing his software altogether.
>=20
> Link: http://nmap.org/book/legal-issues.html
It could. But making such an argument calls the arguer's grasp of reality =
into question. Nmap is a tool, like any other. It has no more ethical val=
ue than a nail gun or a hammer. In the hands of an engineer, it is a valua=
ble addition to a toolkit. In the hands of an attacker, it can become a we=
apon.
If it could be argued that Nmap is malware, then it could be argued that ha=
mmers are weapons; therefore, we should call on Home Depot to stop carrying=
these deadly instruments with all due alacrity - or at least have governme=
nts step in and create licensing programs for hand tools.
Nathan Eisenberg
