What Symantec Knew But Didn't Say

from the oops dept

Anti-virus and security companies are known for overhyping. It's what they do. Every time there's a new security hole or virus they put out tons of press releases about how it's the biggest problem since the internet was invented. Now, it looks like Symantec is getting in trouble for a slightly different form of overhyping: overhyping what they knew but didn't say. They came out with a press release saying that they knew about the Slammer Worm before it came out. However, they only told their customers who were subscribed to some sort of premium program. There are a ton of questions raised by this. First off, how did they know and when did they really know it? If the virus spread in 10 minutes, how is it that they say they knew about it hours before anyone else did? More importantly, what obligation did they have to let the wider community know? Some are accusing them of being "accomplices" to the spread of the virus for seeing it and not doing anything to stop it (unless you were a paying customer).
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 14 Feb 2003 @ 10:04am

    Why should a company be held to higher standards t

    So Symantec knew and didn't tell anybody (or didn't tell the general public). So what?

    Would you accuse an individual of being an accomplice because they found out about a virus or worm and didn't inform the entire frickin' world about it? I think not.

    Symantec is NOT responsible for making sure that the world is safe from worms (or viruses for that matter). Symantec makes money by providing a service (be it virus protection, Internet host security, or whatever).

    People now-a-days seem to always want to blame someone else for things that happen to them and not take personal responsibility.

    If Symantec was the one that created the worm, then that's a different matter, but they didn't (as far as I know). Why should we expect Symantec to keep us all safe from the evils of others?

    That's just my 2.40653 yen.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Miles Minderbinder, 14 Feb 2003 @ 11:47am

    No Subject Given

    The timeline makes no sense.
    Slammer debuted at 9:30 pm PST.
    Symantec issued an alert shortly after 9 pm PST.
    The rest of the internet noticed shortly after midnight EST. I thought midnight EST is 9pm PST.


    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    mhh5, 15 Feb 2003 @ 1:39pm

    Re: Why should a company be held to higher standar

    While I agree that Symantec probably should not be labelled an "accomplice", I still think if they withheld info that they acted unethically. Perhaps all security companies should act completely independently, withholding any information that might give them a competitive advantage...? From their independent business perspectives, that would seem to optimize their respective businesses. But I think that would lead to the "corollary" to a "tragedy of the commons" -- the tragedy of selfishness, where selfishness leads to the detriment to all.....

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.