TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Internet Security Gets Injunction vs. Former Worker

Internet Security Gets Injunction vs. Former Worker

Reuters News Wire (reuters@telecom-digest.org)
Sun, 31 Jul 2005 19:57:00 -0500

A U.S. court ruling has barred a former Internet Security Systems
employee from further disseminating research he has already disclosed
on how computer hackers could undermine Internet equipment made by
Cisco Systems that is vital to the operation of the Internet.

The ruling by a U.S. District Court in San Francisco permanently bars
former employee Michael Lynn and the Black Hat conference organization
from disseminating, in any form, the presentation Lynn gave at the
conference on Wednesday, Internet Security Systems Inc. said in a
statement on Friday.

Internet Security and San Jose, California-based Cisco, the biggest
maker of gear used to direct traffic over the Internet, filed a joint
request for the court injunction after Lynn gave the
presentation. Lynn made the presentation after he had tendered his
resignation to Internet Security.

The conference, in Las Vegas, is a big gathering of computer security
enthusiasts who mull the latest and greatest trends in tech security.

The ruling forbids Lynn from making further use of, or disclosing, any
of the research in the presentation that he conducted while employed
by Internet Security, the company said.

It said the information Lynn presented did not disclose a new
vulnerability or flaw with Cisco Systems Inc.'s_(Nasdaq:CSCO - news)
Internetwork Operating System software but was a description of ways
to "expand exploitations of known security vulnerabilities" affecting
Cisco's routers, which are vital to moving Internet traffic.

Atlanta-based Internet Security Systems provides protection for these
Cisco vulnerabilities.

The companies were not immediately available to comment on whether
Lynn's presentation had caused any increased efforts to undermine
Cisco's equipment.

Prior to the start of the conference, Lynn had informed the Black Hat
organizers that he would not make a presentation at the show because
Internet Security had determined that further research needed to be
conducted on the topic to be presented, Internet Security said.

Internet Security is known for its network intrusion prevention
software that offers big companies in industries like banking and
automotive protections to keep Internet menaces like viruses and spam
from getting inside corporate networks.

Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited.

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