PacketStorm Is Shut Down
An AntiOnline Editorial
Thursday , July 01 1999
Apparently for some time now, PacketStorm Security, a popular
underground collection of security related tools and
information, has been maintaining a vast archive of
materials about AntiOnline. These materials included entire
stories, copies of the weekly mailbag, e-mails, and other
materials copyrighted by AntiOnline LLP.
On top of that, and what was far more serious, the site contained dozens and dozens of
items which included: e-mails, messages, documents, images, and even public surveys. These materials were libelous,
and in some cases, were blatant threats against members of my immediate
family, myself, and my company.
While I value the right to free speech as much, if not more, than
the average American, I do not believe in individuals posting threatening
and harassing documents about another individual, and their family members.
It was for this reason, and no other, that I contacted Harvard University,
which was hosting the PacketStorm Website, and requested
that it be shut down. I did not threaten legal action, but simply directed
University Administration to the website, for them to view, and to judge, on their own.
Below is a copy of that letter:
Greetings:
May I first say that I did my best to see that this letter got sent to the appropriate
individuals. I had some difficulty determining who those individuals may be, so if I have
made an error, I would greatly appreciate it if you would forward this letter on to the
appropriate individual(s).
My name is John Vranesevich, and I am the Founder and General Partner of AntiOnline LLP, a
computer security company based outside of Pittsburgh, PA.
Earlier today, one of my colleagues forwarded me the following URL:
http://packetstorm.harvard.edu/jp/
Needless to say, I was shocked and outraged at what I saw. This page contains a large
archive of libelous and, to put it bluntly, sick material. Everything from archives
of copyrighted material from our website, to altered pictures of my family, to
'stories' about me which contain images ranging from people engaged in homosexual
activities, to a nun that appears to be covered in seminal fluid.
I am astounded that an institution as prestigious Harvard would be party to the
dissemination of this type of material. It is my hope that the University
Administration was unaware of this site, and now that it has been brought
to their attention, it is my hope that it will be dealt with promptly.
I have worked to help several educational institutions develop 'Acceptable Use Policies',
and if Harvard is similar to them, the above URL would be a clear violation of that policy.
It is my hope that the above mentioned domain will be shut down immediately, and that the
individual responsible will be seriously reprimanded.
I hope to hear from you soon about this matter, and what you may have done regarding it.
Yours In CyberSpace,
John Vranesevich
Founder, AntiOnline
Tonight, Ken Williams, the founder of Packet Storm Security, released a letter to the public.
The letter read in part:
Funny how I spent the past few years donating my time, literally thousands of hours, to
"the security community", never making even a penny off the time and work I invested, and
have now lost it all because some asshole named John Vranesevich is able to make a quick
phone call, fabricate absurd stories about criminal activity and bullshit I never did, and
effectively ruin years of work, my education, my career, my life.
Ken, I know what it's like to dedicate many, many, thankless hours into a project, believe me.
But, you did not loose your site because of me, you lost it because of you. I could not stand
by and watch your site be used as a platform to harass and threaten my family, myself, and
the business which I have worked hard to start. While you, and others who 'follow you' may
criticize me for what I did, I think everyone that's reading this, who has family members that
they love, and a career that they enjoy, will admit to themselves that if in my shoes, they
would have done at least the same. I hold absolutely no grudge towards you as a
person, and I hope that you have the best of success in all that you do.
Due to the types of threats that I have been receiving, and that sites like PacketStorm
have been propagating, local law enforcement agencies were put on alert, and began doing
extensive extra patrolling of the residence of my family members, my own residence, and
the AntiOnline Offices. I realize that the actions that I have taken against PacketStorm may
greatly increase the immediate threat against my family, myself, and my company; and that the
harassment will now only get worse. However, I will not allow my family, myself, nor my
company to become a victim. I am standing my ground, and will continue AntiOnline's mission
of putting an end to malicious hackers.
People in this country have the right to say and do whatever they please, unless that is, what
they say and do infringes on the rights of another - anonymous.
Yours In CyberSpace,
John Vranesevich
Founder, AntiOnline
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