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Computer science student expelled for testing university software security

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Josh:
Out of curiosity...does anybody know what the school's official written policy is on this? The schools I'm familiar with all require signed agreements before granting access to the university's data centers and their network. IIRC the two I dealt with both had unambiguous policies regarding the unauthorized use of scanning and related tools, along with severe penalties for doing so.
-40hz (January 21, 2013, 04:17 PM)
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http://dc11.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/dsweb/Get/Document-10133/IT%20Policy%20v1.1.pdf

Out of specific interest are bullets 2a and 4.

40hz:
I think part of what has really gotten under my skin about this story is.. It's the professors in this department who should have known better.  *THEY* should have been standing up *against* the college bureaucrats who wanted to expel him.. defending his curiosity and spirit and going to bat for him and fighting for a more proportional response.  Shame on these professors -- shame on them.  The only thing for them to do now is come forward and explain themselves and explain themselves -- or recant and come to his defense.
-mouser (January 21, 2013, 03:41 PM)
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At the risk of sounding cynical, I haven't seen university faculties buck university administrations much over anything in something like the last twenty years - unless it was over their compensation packages - or the firing of one of their own.

True they'll wade into the public arena with opinions on hot-button social issues whenever there's a possibility of securing some government work (gun control being the most recent area that needed "expert" academic input) or exposure on TV at a hearing. But most times, they seem to keep their heads down pretty low.

As a group, most academics are remarkably risk adverse and status conscious.

I don't expect too manyof Dawson's own  to come forward - although faculty members outside Dawson may have a bit to say once there's enough Reddit and Slashdot chatter posted to safely gauge which way the "big wind" is going to blow on this one.

Unfortunately for this student, right now we have the Aaron Schwartz and Kim Dotcomm debacles to deal with. So when it comes to Dawson, the tech press has much bigger (and IMHO more important) fish to fry.

IainB:
I have it from a reliable source, apparently via someone at Montreal's Dawson College, that there could be a great deal more to this story than meets the eye. Whereas it was commendable that Ahmed Al-Khabaz reported the security weaknesses, he thus exposed himself to some security scrutiny, and apparently it was found that he has close associations with the notorious Al-Gebra movement reported on here: New Terrorist Group at Large in USA.
Maybe his expulsion for subsequently "retesting" the security was based on matters of which we are not privy to. It could all add up.

mouser:
Utter nonsense.

If they had some reason to suspect him of some terrorist connections they would have and should have said so, and he never would have reported the vulnerabilities to them in the first place. Pure paranoia.

Now if it comes out that he was snooping around more than he admitted, or enjoyed looking for vulnerabilities more than he admitted, or has a longer history of playing around with university computer security.. that's certainly possible and remains to be seen.

But let's not take what is by every sign just a young kid curious about his university's computer systems security -- a trait we used to celebrate in the hackers of old, and make him out to be a terrorist.

IainB:
Erm, it was a joke, d'you see? Follow the link. "It all adds up".
And so it is nonsense!    ;)

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