The Morgan Doctrine: "Hu's attacking my Linux server!"

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

"Hu's attacking my Linux server!"

To commemorate the visit of Chinese Chairman Hu Jintao to the United States this week, I'd like to find out why nobody's asking the hard question: "Why is China waging a cyber war against US government and private institutions, and against my little Linux server in particular?" Thanks to Bud Abbott,Lou Costello, and Jay Leno for the puns used a fictional conversation that never happened between myself and the FBI:

Me: Hu is attacking my Linux server.

FBI: How should we know who is attacking your server?

Me: Because I'm telling you.

FBI: Okay, tell us. Who is attacking your Linux server?

Me: Yes.

FBI: Yes who?

Me: That's right.

FBI: What's right? I'm just asking who?

Me: I wish you would, since he's in town visiting the president this week.

FBI: Who's in town?

Me: Yes, Hu is visiting the president.

FBI: Who's visiting the president?

Me: Yes. Have the president ask him to stop attacking my Linux server?

FBI: This is getting us nowhere. Who attacked your server, and when?

Me: Listen, Hu is attacking my server. Forget about Wen. He's the Premier and he's still in China.

FBI: Who's the Premier?

Me: You idiot, Hu is the Chairman. Wen is the Premier. Hu is attacking my Linux server.

FBI: [gasping] I'd like to know why?

Me: Wei? For crying out loud, Wei is in the Secretariat and he's still back in China! I want you to track down Hu, with the president, and ask him to stop attacking my Linux server.

FBI: Okay [audible sigh], just where am I supposed to find who's attacking your server ?

Me: I've been trying to tell you. Hu is attacking my server. And they're probably having lunch at the Foo King Restaurant.

FBI: Sir, profanity is uncalled for. Pull yourself together and call us back when you can control your mouth. [click]

Okay, so this doesn't hold a candle to Abbott and Costello's Who's On First routine. And thanks to Jay Leno and his writers for for his headline routine years ago where someone is trying to report that the Foo King Restaurant is on fire. I've always wanted to use it.

Seriously, I'd like to someone to publicly ask Hu Jintao some hard cyber war questions.

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Background: Welcome black hats, white hats and cyber swashbucklers

The Revolutionary War was fought, financed, and pretty well WON by bonded privateers, legalized pirates who were given Letters of Marque and Reprisal by the Continental Congress and authorized to attack, capture and monetize British ships. The purpose of this site is to explore the possibility of a modern-day doctrine much like the Monroe Doctrine, by means of which the U.S. government could legally and, more importantly, effectively stop international hackers. Current cybercrime law is not only ineffective, but downright stupid. My Linux servers are attacked hundreds of times a day (mostly from China and former USSR domains), yet if I retaliate against those servers with some creative technology at my disposal (I know some VERY smart guys), then I am in violation of federal law and subject to some onerous penalties. We need more than a new law. We need a new international doctrine. I call it The Morgan Doctrine, named after Morgan Rapier, a fictional character I've created (hey, this is my way of establishing ownership of the concept, should it ever see the light of day).

Why a new international doctrine? Simply, nothing else will work. Introduced on December 2, 1823, the Monroe Doctrine told the world to keep their hands off the Americas. Combine this with current legal thinking on "hot pursuit" of fugitives. In 1917 the US Army went into Mexico after Pancho Villa. More recently, in 1960 Israeli Mossad agents abducted Adolf Eichmann from Argentina. Granted, much of the world regards the Eichmann adventure as a violation of international law. I don't share that opinion and therefore use it as the third leg of my Monroe-Pancho-Aldof platform for The Morgan Doctrine.

If someone comes into your home and attacks or attempts to rob you, you may shoot them dead. You may do so as long as they expire on your property. But what about cyber criminals? They attack you in your home from their homes. Retaliate in kind, and you go to jail. The Morgan Doctrine states simply that if you attack my computers (or my banking assets held in US-based computers), then under a certain set of well-defined conditions, a licensed and bonded "cyber privateer" may attack you in your home country and split the proceeds with the U.S. government. For the sake of argument, let's call it a 50-50 split (heh heh).

Right now, American law enforcement is completely unequipped to deal with the sheer number international cyber hackers. Sure, I could report each of the thousand daily attacks to the FBI, as could the millions of other attackees in the USA. But the volume of such reports would make any meaningful resolution laughable. Not to mention that the FBI has no jurisdiction outside the USA. Yet to make such "enforcement" profitable to recognized (ie, "bonded" "deputized") privateers, as Heath Ledger's Joker said in his last role, "Now you're talking!" You raid our bank accounts, we raid yours. You make money from off-shore child pornography, we're going to loot your bank accounts and, with some REALLY creative black hat operations, you will be taken off the grid worldwide to the extent that you'll not even complete a cell phone conversation for the remainder of your miserable depraved life. Okay, that last part probably won't fly, but you get my drift.

The purpose of this site is to explore the mechanics, legalities and practicality of The Morgan Doctrine.

And I will be the sole arbiter of whether or not your comments get posted. As Mel Brooks wrote, "It's good to be king."

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

"Hu's attacking my Linux server!"

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