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News You Could Do Without

by Mike Masnick

Fri, Nov 4th 2005 3:18pm




Hacker Who Cisco Made Famous Lands Job At Chief Rival

from the whoooooooops dept

Remember over the summer when Cisco freaked out over a security researcher who revealed a pretty major vulnerability in the software that runs a lot of Cisco equipment? We already discussed how the move backfired badly by only calling much more attention to the vulnerability -- but also to the researcher, Michael Lynn himself. He lost his job at a security firm over the flap, but it appears the notoriety probably helped him find another one without too much trouble. He's now working at Juniper, a major Cisco rival. Does Cisco get the referral bonus for recommending him? Update: Oh and, by the way, it was only this week that Cisco finally patched the real problem Lynn was discussing. Update: Updated to make clear that Lynn worked at a security firm, since some felt I implied he worked at Cisco.
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  • identicon
    1whoknows, 4 Nov 2005 @ 4:06pm

    get it right

    the dude worked for iss, not cisco, and iss fired him.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      RBasil, 4 Nov 2005 @ 4:08pm

      Re: get it right

      www.techdirt.com "Where they get half the story correct on a good day."

      [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      harish, 4 Nov 2005 @ 4:45pm

      Re: get it right

      first of all who mentioned that he was working for cisco?, get yout typeface right.

      [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Mike (profile), 4 Nov 2005 @ 4:49pm

      Re: get it right

      I never said he worked for Cisco... but he did lose his job (with ISS) over the flap, and it was his fame that helped him get another job.

      Where did I say he worked for Cisco?

      [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        The Captian, 4 Nov 2005 @ 4:59pm

        Re: get it right

        technically you didnt, but also technically you used really crappy diction. It looks like you inferred he worked for Cisco. Have someone proof read before you post.

        [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          Mike (profile), 4 Nov 2005 @ 5:04pm

          Re: get it right

          Hmm. Okay. I've updated the post to reflect that, but I still think it was pretty clear from the beginning. We never said he worked at Cisco. We've written about his story enough that we clearly knew he didn't work at Cisco. So, still not sure why people are accusing us of saying he did work there.

          [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Dan, 4 Nov 2005 @ 5:46pm

            Re: get it right

            So somebody skimmed the article, misinterpreted it and in their haste to post first and feel smart didn't check the facts. Sure the first line could have been a bit clearer (I had to reread it myself) but now any good commentary about the article relating to the fact that Cisco should be red-faced about now is drowned out by something trivial (I have now added myself to that list of detractors).
            Kudos to Mike for trying to appease the 'masses' without backing down or being an ass about it.

            [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 4 Nov 2005 @ 5:45pm

          Re: get it right

          "Have someone proof read before you post," says "The Captian".

          God bless the Internet.

          [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Trismegistus, 4 Nov 2005 @ 9:28pm

          Re: get it right

          You are accusing a person of "crappy diction", and you misuse the word "inferred". Well I guess that constitutes "crappy" grammar" Look the work up in a dictionary, and try the word "implied" next time. Nothing worse than correcting someone, and coming off as a buffoon.

          [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            OldMessage, 4 Nov 2005 @ 10:14pm

            Re: get it right

            Hehehehe, sorry guys but you are out of your fucking mind. Instead of saying something like "Cool information", you are hageling on wording if or if not the sentences could lead to an impression that the guy was working for CISCO. Who give's a flying pigs fart about it. He is not working for them (his old company, smile) anymore and if CISCO missed out on the opportunity to hire him, bad for them, but they will survice.
            Joe in Germany.

            [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Huh?, 5 Nov 2005 @ 10:48am

          Re: get it right

          Uhm, It's spelled Captain... You should have someone proof your work, idiot...

          [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      drew, 4 Nov 2005 @ 6:59pm

      Re: get it right

      you alone are responsible for your assumptions...

      [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    arcfixer, 4 Nov 2005 @ 6:01pm

    GETTING IT RIGHT

    Read the article. It says Cisco was upset with a security researcher, and goes on to say the researcher lost his job at a security firm.
    .
    The Captian (did you mean Captain?)-While you may have erroneously inferred the researcher worked for Cisco, Mike never implied same.-Have your proofreader explain the proper usage of infer and imply.;)

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Mike (profile), 4 Nov 2005 @ 6:31pm

      Re: GETTING IT RIGHT

      Before anyone beats up too much on The Captian... I added the part about the "security firm" after the complaints in the comments. But the rest of the post is identical.

      [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous, 4 Nov 2005 @ 7:06pm

      Re: GETTING IT RIGHT

      "Read the article. It says Cisco was upset with a security researcher, and goes on to say the researcher lost his job at a security firm."
      Actually, they say a securty researcher.. not necessarily their security researcher. Maybe you all should take a minute or two to comprehend the article, and get your facts straight.

      [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 4 Nov 2005 @ 7:24pm

        Re: GETTING IT RIGHT

        I love the internet. One of the only places where someone could mis-read something, then say that it was crappy diction (clearly isn't), or that it was inferred (clearly wasn't). You misread, get over it. Your pride and head can probably stand to be deflated somewhat. Get over it ;)

        [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    fs, 5 Nov 2005 @ 12:25am

    Fired?

    The rumor mill had it that Mike Lynn quit ISS before giving the presentation at Black Hat, not that he was fired.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Eliot Phillips, 5 Nov 2005 @ 11:55pm

    Cnet reads Slashdot

    I guess you just have to make a phone call to confirm an AC and you've got a story. See this comment

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Mitchell Earl, 6 Nov 2005 @ 4:00pm

    Story accuracy

    I don't know what all the complaints are about. The article did NOT "infer" that he worked for CISCO and was easy to understand the way it was worded.

    I think some computer geeks need to brush up on their Reading and Comprehension.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]


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