MESSAGE
| DATE | 2003-09-10 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir Secretary NYLXS
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [hangout] SCO Pleads ...
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SCO Group CEO complains that open-source community is behind
denial-of-service attacks on the company's Web site. By Larry Greenemeier
After a brief lull, the battle between SCO Group and the Linux community
over software copyrights and intellectual property resumed Tuesday
when SCO Group CEO Darl McBride wrote an open letter to open-source
software users.
In the letter, McBride says the SCO Group's Web site has been hit with
three denial-of-service attacks within the past four months. The attacks
prevented Web users from accessing the company's Web site and doing
business with SCO Group. McBride's letter says, "There is no question
about the affiliation of the attacker--Open Source leader Eric Raymond
was quoted as saying that he was contacted by the perpetrator and that
'he's one of us.' To Mr. Raymond's partial credit, he asked the attacker
to stop. However, he has yet to disclose the identity of the perpetrator
so that justice can be done."
While some accuse McBride of using the Web and the media to perpetuate
his company's claim that its Unix System V source was illegally used to
enhance the Linux kernel in the absence of any court ruling, others say
McBride's letter made several good points.
One point not to be overlooked, analysts say, is that the Linux community
may be pushing its luck by attacking SCO Group's Web site and resorting
to other forms of cyberterrorism. "This is an issue that's not going
away for the open-source community," says Bill Claybrook, the Aberdeen
Group's open-source research director. "I'm not a big fan of the way SCO
Group is doing what they're doing, but I thought Darl did a good job of
outlining things in the GPL model that people have been concerned about."
This includes a lack of protection that Linux providers such as Red Hat
and IBM offer their customers against intellectual-property infringement
claims and lawsuits. If a company is selling someone else's intellectual
property, the customer should know that, Claybrook says. "This is
something that should be considered by the open-source community as
Linux moves into enterprises."
SCO Group's lawsuits against IBM and Red Hat have helped the company
incur the wrath of an entire IT movement, and no letter or justification
will change everyone's mind at this point, says Laura DiDio, a Yankee
Group senior analyst. "I think all of the different participants have
made up their minds and gone to their respective corners."
Some wonder if the Linux community is damaging its cause through such
aggressive behavior. "This is going to hurt the open-source community's
credibility as a whole," DiDio says. "I can't attest to SCO's claims, but
they have the right to file a lawsuit." -- __________________________
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