Geoff,
At 11:03 AM 11/3/95, mulligan @
future .
incog .
com wrote:
[...]
>This is sort of a cagey answer. Quite probably "no sniffer programs
>were ever installed on any NSFNET routers."
My message wasn't meant to be cagey. I'm sorry you found it too ambiguous.
Try this: No sniffer programs were installed on any components of the
NSFNET backbone.
>If they were pure routers and not general purpose machines running as
>routers I don't think you COULD install a sniffer, but this doesn't say
>that sniffers were not installed on other (non router) machines attached
>to the NSFNET backbone.
Since all the (then) NSFNET regionals and, by transitivity, the entire
Internet was attached to the NSFNET backbone in some sense it wouldn't make
sense to make this claim if we are splitting hairs.
But the point is that the NSFNET backbone service wasn't compromised. Your
packets might have been sniffed getting there or away, as they transited
other people's networks, but not as they crossed the NSFNET.
>I do know FOR A FACT that a sniffer program was installed on a machine
>attached to the BARRnet backbone and did sniff a huge number of
>passwords.
BARRnet's not the NSFNET backbone of course, so this doesn't prove anything.
Hopefully this message makes things clear to all but the most inveterate
hair-splitters. If you want further clarification, perhaps we could take
this to private email.
Regards,
--John Scudder
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