The Morgan Doctrine: Marc Benioff: Captain of the Cyber Privateer "Death Star"

Monday, November 8, 2010

Marc Benioff: Captain of the Cyber Privateer "Death Star"

I'd previously nominated Larry Ellison as my first Cyber Privateer Fantasy League player. Now that the FBI is "interested" in the Oracle-SAP trial (see my comment in today's Computerworld story), it doesn't stretch the imagination to imply that Ellison is doing the FBI's job for them. Why not formalize it with a Letter of Marque and let Larry cut to the chase with all the bad guys? And it is for this reason that I name my second Cyber Privateer Fantasy League player: Marc Benioff, founder and CEO of Salesforce.com.

I've known Marc for 25 years, and had the pleasure of helping him engineer his pre-IPO attacks against Siebel. One of my favorite creations is the "I will not give my lunch money to Siebel" ad from 2002:

My reasons for adding Marc Benioff to my Cyber Privateer Fantasy League:

He will play well with Larry Ellison. Marc is one of the few ex-Oracle/ex-Ellison spawns that Larry doesn't openly hate. In fact, I think they kind of like each other. Larry was on the Salesforce.com board until Oracle started direct competitor NetSuite and Marc had to ask him to step down.
Salesforce.com has an interesting and vastly different dynamic than does Oracle. While Oracle is sending its X-wing fighters into the Galaxy to take on all competition, Salesforce.com is really a single "Death Star" entity, hosting the Galaxy from within. From a security standpoint, defending one well-guarded domain is much more doable than throwing your security net over the entire Galaxy. One set of security professionals can maintain discipline far more effectively than an infinite army of least-common-denominator links in the chain. In fact, the "Death Star" model may be the only truly viable security model in a full-blown cyber war.
Marc Benioff's longstanding antipathy toward China is demonstrated in his first charity focus, Tibet House. Given that China and Russia are likely to be the big players in a cyber war, neither Marc nor Larry are likely to back down. They have the same take-no-prisoners DNA. I remember a GREAT statement by Larry Ellison concerning Russia, but until I can corroborate it with another source, I dare not repeat it. Needless to say, Ellison and Benioff would be cyber privateers to be feared worldwide.
Marc is a visionary and a leader who can stay on target, not changing strategy or tactics due his last phone call.

So my Cyber Privateer Fantasy League has two members with whom I've had a longstanding relationship, and who I can attest have the intellect, the toughness, and the real-world experience to lead the way. I'll be suggesting other team members in future posts.

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Implementation suggestions for THE MORGAN DOCTRINE are most welcome. What are the "Got'chas!"? What questions would some future Cyber Privateering Czar have to answer about this in a Senate confirmation hearing?

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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."