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Computer science student expelled for testing university software security

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wraith808:
Wow... if that's the real series of events, I withdraw my statement that he did anything wrong.  This timeline is pretty damning.

Renegade:
Useful timeline of events and facts here:
http://www.hamedhelped.com/

Reading it just makes me more convinced that the computer science department at Dawson has behaved unforgivably; if they have a different set of facts they need to present them publicly.
-mouser (January 22, 2013, 10:43 PM)
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From that page:

November 14th

Hamed is asked to meet with Diane Gauvin. She hands him his letter of expulsion citing professional misconduct. Security is on hand to immediately confiscate his Student ID.
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Ummm... Does anyone know the difference between "professional" and "amateur"?

Students are amateurs. It doesn't matter how smart or how good their grades are - they are amateurs. They are unpaid.

Professionals are paid to perform a task/service. They perform that task/service for a living. Consistently.

What he did may have been misconduct, but it certainly wasn't professional misconduct.

If you hire Joe Blow because he needs a job, and has dabbled in XYZ, you're hiring an amateur. If you hire John Doe because he does XYZ for a living, you're hiring a professional. Not a particularly difficult concept to understand.

But I raise the issue because I've seen the word "professional" thrown around, misused, and abused in a few different areas. The Humpty Dumpty interpretation of language seems to be more prevalent now with educated people that should know better. I'll leave that there though...

Now, to tie this back into the thread, mouser pointed out previously about "weasel behaviour", and this is exactly that kind of deceptive garbage used by weasels and rats to wiggle out of the messes they create for themselves. They twist words far beyond their meanings in hopes of obfuscating the facts.

Renegade:
Wow... if that's the real series of events, I withdraw my statement that he did anything wrong.  This timeline is pretty damning.
-wraith808 (January 22, 2013, 11:11 PM)
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Quite. This entry seems to be the most contentious one there:

October 26th

Hamed is informed that Skytech has fixed the holes in Omnivox and that the site is now secure. Excited by their rapid response, he logs on to the test server the College provided him to run an Acrunetix scan. The scan shows no vulnerabilities but Skytech is alerted to its use and calls Dawson College to get the name of the “culprit”. Dawson College hands over Hamed’s number and Skytech calls him at 9PM. They threaten to call the RCMP on him and warn that he may face a year in jail for his actions. Hamed explains that he was part of the team that found the initial hole and that his intent was just to ensure the data was truly secure. They ask him to provide any bugs he may have found  by October 28th. He does so under condition that they agree to not sue them and in return he will not disclose any of what he found to anybody.
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So he's provided with a test server, uses it, and Hell breaks loose.

The summary makes it all sound much more damning:

In sum,

- Hamed exchanged emails with Mr. Paradis where it was expressed that his actions on September 21st were irresponsible.
- Hamed never received a Cease & Desist letter.
- Hamed never received an official written warning.
- Hamed was thanked for bringing vulnerabilities to light on October 24th.
- Hamed was given access to a test server on October 24th.
- Hamed was asked to only use the test server when at Dawson.
- Hamed was eager to verify the updated security of Omnivox on October 26th and performed tests from his home.
- Hamed immediately stopped scanning the system upon receiving a call from the CEO of Skytech.
- Hamed was not granted the right to speak directly with the members of the Computer Science faculty before they voted on his expulsion.
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IainB:
Reading that article (Montreal college student union defends expelled computer science student) gives me a warm feeling.
-mouser (January 22, 2013, 05:12 PM)
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Yes, me too.
If the facts as above are all true and can be substantiated, then it rather looks like a monumental clusterfark at Montreal's Dawson College. The Provost must take the blame.
They either dig the hole they've apparently already dug for themselves deeper still, or give in and say sorry.
The Streisand Effect will make sure this one doesn't get forgotten in a hurry.
There'll be a subsequent change at Board level too, I suspect.
Let's see who they might try to throw under a bus as a sacrificial lamb.

Renegade:
Let's see who they might try to throw under a bus as a sacrificial lamb.
-IainB (January 23, 2013, 01:35 AM)
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No doubt! :)

I'm also interested to see what happens later for that professor that voted against expelling Hamed. If public opinion holds, he'll be vindicated for his lone vote. What sort of publicity will it generate for him?

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