Security Watch | Matt Hines » And people wonder why I'm so pessimistic...

August 30, 2006 | Comments: (0)

And people wonder why I'm so pessimistic...

TAGS: Security

I trust in the kindness of strangers and, of course, the maliciousness of other individuals that I don't know.

Okay, so I'm not that pessimistic, but I am a realist. That's why it bums me out when I hear that that when potential disaster strikes people are out there willing to make a buck off of it, even it means defrauding a few people. A prime example is the recent rampant purchasing of anything pertaining to the domain name Ernesto, which, for those of you who have been hiding under a rock, is the name of the latest hurricane (now tropical storm) brewing off the coast of Florida.

Most of these purchases lead to domain parking or cybersquatting, where the purchaser bets that someone will pay him or her big money to get the domain name for legitimate purposes. Others use the sites for outright fraud, while a few use the sites for legitimate purposes.

Dealing with the aftermath of defrauded individuals is an unfortunate part of being in the computer security arena. This kind of domain abuse is just another manifestation of people making a buck at someone else's expense. Unfortunately, and at least for right now, we all have to live with the outcome.

Update: I've seen a few emails moving around today regarding the original story by Robert McMillan that I reference in this post. The issue being that several of the individuals who purchased many of the domains regarding the now tropical storm Ernesto state that their intent is to publish news about the storm, and if they benefit from the selling of Ernesto domains then they plan to use those funds for good and the betterment of all involved.

You can take a look at the original reference for this story on the SANS site by Johannes Ullrich which has been updated to reflect some of this information.

Now, selling goods for an inflated price during a disaster is considered 'gouging', and in many cases is against the law. That's all I'll say on that matter.

I will attest that many of these domain purchasers may not be scamming or defrauding anyone or doing anything considered illegal. But, that being said, I don't believe that potentially capitalizing on the misery of others is a good way to make money.

Posted by Victor R. Garza on August 30, 2006 03:15 AM

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