CNN's legal security blunder

We had the opportunity to witness this week two rather amusing examples of Old Media grappling with Scary New Internet issues. On the one hand, we’ve got ESPN360.com – a website which streams sports matches that don’t get aired in real-time demanding payment from ISP’s wishing to grant their customers access to the content.

This week, CNN dipped their corporate toe in the murky waters of P2P with a video streaming service of their but took it right back out with a wondrous EULA that forbids those accepting it to “collect any information about communication in the network of computers that are operating the Software or about the other users of the Software by monitoring, interdicting or intercepting any process of the Software”. Moreover, “Octoshape recognizes that firewalls and anti-virus applications can collect such information, in which case you not are allowed to use or distribute such information.” Which means, in non-lawyer speak, that your connection, antivirus and firewall logs are off-limits to yourself once you install the octoshape thingy.

Hold back for a second the amusing idea of using some third-party computer to monitor communications and thus skirt the EULA and let’s consider the security implications. What if, for instance, a remotely exploitable vulnerability is found in the octoshape P2P service that allows someone to hijack and use it for their own purposes? Depending on your definition of “use”, your system could be distributing virus-laden child pornography spamvertisements with databases of stolen credit card data attached and you’d be none the wiser – because you interpreted the EULA as saying that you’re not supposed to know about what passes through your connection and you really, really truly want to watch CNN. An interesting notion, to be sure.