We agree on your point. The company is being a bully. My issue is with the reception of the story. The larger picture is that frivolous takedown notices are issued all the time, and will continue to be issued willfully by companies until there is disincentive to do so.
Prof. Anderson's actions are commendable. I do not wish to detract from them. However, with the candor I hope a security researcher would appreciate, I point out that both parties probably expected this exchange would take place, and both parties understand Prof. Anderson's response is ineffective. (The Internet, however, may not.)
Prof. Anderson has successfully stood up to this organization, but he has only maintained parity. This kind of incident will repeat as long as companies believe they can get something out of it. Someone else will cave or will plain not know any better. The companies' goal is, basically, harassment, and they will continue to do it regardless of anything that's happened so far. So I guess my point is that I would rather see people discussing how to remedy this old situation than remarking on the letter, which while entertaining and well-written, is actually the signifier of a losing battle.
(unfortunately this is the last I can comment on this topic)
Let's talk about the other side. Businesses have always acted this way when it comes to computer security (for at least the last 15 years, feel free to cite earlier examples). By now they probably understand that what they're doing is wrong, from a security perspective. They may even understand that issuing takedowns increases publicity. Still, business are sociopathic, they don't care about the legitimacy of their actions. They have a staff of lawyers they're already paying for, and a responsibility to defend trade secrets and protect their product base. So they marshal their lawyers, essentially for free, and maybe they get something out of the effort as a result. If they don't, nothing much was lost, and they generally don't care about their perception in the security community. Same old story. This incident is less about someone standing up to a bully and more about someone weathering another wave coming out of the ocean.
We agree on your point. The company is being a bully. My issue is with the reception of the story. The larger picture is that frivolous takedown notices are issued all the time, and will continue to be issued willfully by companies until there is disincentive to do so.
Prof. Anderson's actions are commendable. I do not wish to detract from them. However, with the candor I hope a security researcher would appreciate, I point out that both parties probably expected this exchange would take place, and both parties understand Prof. Anderson's response is ineffective. (The Internet, however, may not.)
Prof. Anderson has successfully stood up to this organization, but he has only maintained parity. This kind of incident will repeat as long as companies believe they can get something out of it. Someone else will cave or will plain not know any better. The companies' goal is, basically, harassment, and they will continue to do it regardless of anything that's happened so far. So I guess my point is that I would rather see people discussing how to remedy this old situation than remarking on the letter, which while entertaining and well-written, is actually the signifier of a losing battle.
(unfortunately this is the last I can comment on this topic)