Hackers Given Rocket Launchers - The SATAN Riots, 1995."

Hackers Given Rocket Launchers - The SATAN Riots, 1995."

In 1995, when SATAN, a vulnerability scanner developed for network administrators, was released to the public, it was perceived by society as a powerful automated attack tool, even though it was intended for research purposes. Although originally intended to diagnose system flaws and strengthen defenses, the mass media used radical metaphors to report on the dangers because of the potential for even novice users to easily exploit vulnerabilities. The Oakland Tribune warned that it was "like distributing automatic weapons," the San Jose Mercury said it was "the equivalent of giving away rocket launchers for free," and the Los Angeles Times declared that it was "like giving guns to 12-year-olds. At a time when the Internet was beginning to spread from universities and research institutes to businesses and homes, security measures were still in the process of being developed, and the release of such tools was a source of fear in an immature society. At the time, the image of "ha
ckers = criminals" was gaining ground, and SATAN made clear the discrepancy between the intentions of researchers seeking "transparency and improvement" and the public's concern about "misuse and confusion. The uproar became the starting point for subsequent ethical debates in security research and the occasion for a long-running debate over the pros and cons of disclosure versus secrecy.