🚀 go-pugleaf

dan@cubmol.bio.columbia.edu (Daniel Zabetakis) writes:

>    Does anyone have in thier usage policy mention of Crack, or COPS,
>or other programs that could be used for unnacceptable purposes?
>    Does anyone not allow possesion of Crack? How about running it?
[...]

I would think that it would violate the general free expression and
privacy policies of most universities to ban possession of legal
material. I assume Columbia doesn't ban student and professor
possession of legal books?

Banning the running of such programs doesn't seem so bad. But any
such ban should have an authorization mechanism.

I'm enclosing relevant information from the Computer and Academic
Freedom archive.

- Carl

ANNOTATED REFERENCES

(All these documents are available on-line. Access information follows.)

=================
news/cafv02n23: Message-Id: <1992Apr30.164835.1816@opac.osl.or.gov>
=================
An article from the Computers and Academic Freedom News 02.23

Notes 8-9 are about cracking program and email privacy policy.

8. "I have a problem with outlawing cracking programs: ... Would it be
illegal to possess a paper on access security that contained the
source code for a cracking program?  Where do they draw the line
between intellectual discourse and intent to break into someones
account?"

=================
news/cafv02n11: Message-Id: <9202161945.AA24863@bsu-cs.bsu.edu>
=================
An article from the Computers and Academic Freedom News 02.11

Notes 5-7 are about privacy.

5. A user on this system was apparently running a password cracking
program.  An administer searched my files and found I had a copy of
the newest version of Crack.  I have legitimate reasons for having
this program.  I have received mail from the Chairman of the
Department "inviting" me to discuss my account privileges. "It really
bothers me that I'm going to get in a lot of trouble (probably anyway)
just for the mere possession of a program."

=================
news/cafv02n29: Message-Id: <1992Jun18.200126.486@newshost.lanl.gov>
=================
An article from the Computers and Academic Freedom News 02.29

Notes 7 and 8 concern the rights of system administrators to access
users' accounts.

7. "You are given an account with the understanding that you will not
use it to attempt to crack the system. But if you use that account to
learn the passwords of other users, then you are abusing the trust
placed in you by the system administrator, and he can remove your
access for it."

=================
news/cafv01n03: Message-Id: <9104212213.AA25432@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>
=================
An article from the Computers and Academic Freedom News 01.03

Netnews censorship of a posted program at Case Western is discussed.

=================
news/cafv01n20: Message-Id: <1991Jul30.013420.19111@eff.org>
=================
An article from the Computers and Academic Freedom News 01.20

A report of a student of the University of Georgia being suspended for
knowingly aiding crackers by supplying them with an encrypted password
file. (The student seems to have received due processes.)

=================
academic/student.freedoms.aaup
=================
Joint Statement on Rights and Freedoms of Students -- This is the main
U.S. statement on student academic freedom.

=================
policies/uiuc.edu
=================
This is the University of Illinois's Interim E-Mail and Computer File
Privacy Policy. It says that "network and system administrators are
expected to treat the contents of electronic files as private and
confidential." and "Any inspection of electronic files, and any action
based upon such inspection, will be governed by all applicable U. S.
and Illinois laws and by University policies."

=================
policies/ctr.columbia.edu
=================
"CTR Rules and Regulations Reguarding the Use of Computing
Facilities".  CTR is the Center for Telecommunications Research at
Columbia University.  The policy was sent in by Seth Robertson
<seth@ctr.columbia.edu>.


=================
policies/cc.columbia.edu
=================
The old policy for Columbia University's Center for Computing
Activities. They are working on a new policy.

=================
faq/policy
=================
q: What guidance is there for creating or evaluating a computer policy?

=================
faq/email.policies
=================
q: Do any universities treat email and computer files as private?

=================
faq/email.privacy
=================
q: Can (should) my university monitor my email (and files)?

=================
faq/netnews.writing
=================
q: Should my university allow students to post to Netnews?
(also talks about freedom of expression in the context of computers)

=================
caf
=================
A description to the comp-academic-freedom-talk mailing list. It is a
free-forum for the discussion of questions such as: How should general
principles of academic freedom (such as freedom of expression, freedom
to read, due process, and privacy) be applied to university computers
and networks? How are these principles actually being applied? How can
the principles of academic freedom as applied to computers and
networks be defended?

=================
=================

These document(s) are available by anonymous ftp (the preferred
method) and by email. To get the file(s) via ftp, do an anonymous ftp
to ftp.eff.org (192.88.144.4), and get file(s):

  pub/academic/news/cafv02n23
  pub/academic/news/cafv02n11
  pub/academic/news/cafv02n29
  pub/academic/news/cafv01n03
  pub/academic/news/cafv01n20
  pub/academic/academic/student.freedoms.aaup
  pub/academic/policies/uiuc.edu
  pub/academic/policies/ctr.columbia.edu
  pub/academic/policies/cc.columbia.edu
  pub/academic/faq/policy
  pub/academic/faq/email.policies
  pub/academic/faq/email.privacy
  pub/academic/faq/netnews.writing
  pub/academic/caf

To get the file(s) by email, send email to archive-server@eff.org.
Include the line(s) (be sure to include the space before the file
name):

send acad-freedom/news cafv02n23
send acad-freedom/news cafv02n11
send acad-freedom/news cafv02n29
send acad-freedom/news cafv01n03
send acad-freedom/news cafv01n20
send acad-freedom/academic student.freedoms.aaup
send acad-freedom/policies uiuc.edu
send acad-freedom/policies ctr.columbia.edu
send acad-freedom/policies cc.columbia.edu
send acad-freedom/faq policy
send acad-freedom/faq email.policies
send acad-freedom/faq email.privacy
send acad-freedom/faq netnews.reading
send acad-freedom caf
--
Carl Kadie -- kadie@cs.uiuc.edu -- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign