QuickLinks - Security and encryption

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Issue no. 203 - 19 July 2001

• Hell is 700 sites hacked in one minute (vnunet)
  In what may be a record of some sort, notorious hacker group World of Hell managed to deface 679 web sites in just one minute.

• Honeynet Project sweetens hacker bait (ZDNet)
  The Honeynet Project - a group of experts in computer security, information intelligence and psychology - unveiled its plans for improving "honeynets," collections of computers designed to let hackers break into a false network while allowing investigators to watch their every move. see also Decoy PCs give hackers a security lesson (IDG).

• How US spooks secure W2K and Cisco routers (vnunet)
  US spook site, NSA.gov, has finally re-released its guidelines on securing Windows 2000 and added hints on protecting Cisco routers from hackers.

• Israeli m0sad hackers crack 480 sites (vnunet.)
  A pro-Israeli defacing group, m0sad, hit 480 websites in a political hack that probably took less than a minute.

• Malicious Web Attacks May Be New IIS Worm (Newsbytes)
  A new Internet worm may be on the loose and could have already infected thousands of sites running Web server software from Microsoft, security experts warned. see also Attack Program Exploits New Microsoft Bug (Newsbytes).

• New Office XP vulnerability found (BUGNET)
  Noted Bulgarian security consultant, Georgi Guninski, went public with a security advisory for Office XP users that would allow a malicious web developer unencumbered access to a victim’s e-mails.

• Online financial firm hacked (CNET News.com)
  Online financial services provider S1 acknowledged that it suffered an electronic break-in last month, when an unknown attacker exploited a security flaw to access one of the company's servers.

• Sans.org Web site hacked (MSNBC)
  The home page for one of the nation’s most respected computer security training institutes has been defaced and the site remains offline. A group identifying itself as "Fluffi Bunni" managed to break into the Web site for the Networking and Security Institute, which is known as SANS.

• 'Secure' U.S. Site Wasn't Very (Wired)
  A Commerce Department "Safe Harbor" site established to aid U.S. firms in offering adequate privacy protection instead revealed confidential information about American firms. See also U.S. scrutinizes security hole at privacy site (Reuters).

• Security showdown in Vegas (CNET News.com)
  Las Vegas plays host to two separate security conferences - one for people who guard computer systems, another for those who break into them.

• Strewth! Aussie hacker on the rampage (vnunet)
  Australian web servers have been getting a proper grilling from a defacer who seems bent on bringing poor security policies to the attention of the masses.

• U.K. Student Given Three Years Probation For Hacking (Newsbytes)
  Most of the servers were running older versions of Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) software. Peter Sommer, an info-tech security expert and risk analyst, said that in every case where Gray gained unauthorized access to systems, site owners did not follow basic security requirements set out by Microsoft. "Rather than demonizing hackers, people who run Web sites should ensure that they have adequate levels of security on their systems," he said. Hacker learns internet deception isn't child's play

• Wireless networks lure hackers (ZDNet)
  A new way to attack wireless networks underscores the lack of security for PC owners using the airwaves to connect their computers.

• Worms evolving into complex beasts (ZDNet News)
  The next generation of computer worms will be stealthier, more targeted and harder to defend against, a security expert predicted at the Black Hat Security Briefings.

• EU - Commission welcomes adoption of European smart cards-reader standards (RAPID)
  Commissioner Erkki Liikanen will open an event that marks the launch of new specifications for secure smart cards-readers by the European Committee for Standardisation. These specifications are the result of the work of the FINREAD Consortium, consisting of innovative European payment schemes.

• USA - Bush plan would revamp Net security (AP)
  President Bush is weighing a markedly different approach to protecting the nation's technology backbone from terrorism - one that would replace the high-profile security job his predecessor created with an advisory board of federal officials.

• USA - Government payroll system in Denver open to hackers (AP)
  A government payroll computer center in Denver is fraught with security problems, raising the possibility of criminals stealing or altering records, congressional investigators said

• Microsoft to tap VeriSign for security (AP)
  Microsoft will enlist VeriSign to help provide security for its planned set of Internet services called .Net.

• MSN Messenger et Hotmail : Entrez sans frapper (Yahoo FR)
  Deux spécialistes soutiennent avoir découvert plusieurs failles de sécurité dans MSN Messenger, donnant accès au mot de passe utilisé pour l'outil de messagerie de Microsoft et le service de messagerie Hotmail.

Issue no. 202 - 5 July 2001

• AOL’s ICQ servers cracked (ZDNet UK)
  AOL’s ICQ servers were hacked for the second time this year. The ICQ software uses the Microsoft IIS Web server. AOL said that the electronic defacement vulnerability was quickly patched, and that no customer details were accessed.

• Britney's Guide to Hacking NT in 5 Easy Steps (Thorsten Sideb0ard)
  This paper is part of a series of educational pieces, to illuminate the importance of a secure environment on the Internet. In order to keep up with security needs, the latest exploits have to be tracked, systems patched, the network constantly monitored, and tested.

• Burger King site grilled for third time (vnunet)
  The Burger King UK website got a grilling for the third time this year after hackers served up the latest exploits to deface the site.

• Cisco router bug puts Net at risk (ZDNet UK)
  Cisco Systems and CERT, the security advisory organization, have warned of a bug in Cisco routers and switches. The glitch could give a hacker the ability to disrupt Internet traffic or intercept sensitive information.

• Defacement Worm Strikes Quote.com Site (Newsbytes)
  An Internet worm that automatically defaces Web sites claimed another high-profile victim, redecorating the home page of a site operated by Lycos' Quote.com investment service.

• Hackers pounce on Web site flaw (MSNBC)
  Time has apparently run out for Internet e-commerce sites using software by PDG Software to fix a critical flaw that exposes customer credit card numbers. In the past few days, dozens of URLs have been posted in Internet chat rooms linking to small Web sites that hadn’t patched their flawed shopping cart programs.

• www.schmidt.ohweh (Spiegel)
  Hat da wer gehackt?

Issue no. 201 - 26 June 2001

• A hacker's dream - from Microsoft (Observer)
  On 25 October, Microsoft plans to unleash Windows XP, its next desktop operating system, upon an unsuspecting world. XP, since you ask, apparently stands for 'experience'. There are, however, two 'features' in Windows XP about which Mr Gates and his colleagues are less forthcoming. Smart Tags enables Microsoft - through the browser running on your PC - to re-edit anybody's site, without the owner's knowledge or permission. The other under-discussed feature of XP is the way in which its architecture opens up a terrifying security hole which could make it much easier for malicious programmers to launch the Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks which brought down many large e-commerce sites recently.

• Confidential reports to aid cybercrime crackdown (ZDNet UK)
  With companies failing to report IT attacks, no statistics exist to prove the extent of the cybercrime problem. The head of Britain's National High-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) is calling for a confidential channel for UK businesses to report cybercrime attacks.

• Hacked EU Site Back Online, But Attack Continues (Newsbytes)
  SaferInternet.org, the European Union-sponsored Web site that was yanked off the Web after being hacked twice, is now back online. But it is still being targeted for attack

• Hackers crack four Microsoft sites (vnunet.com)
  Microsoft was left reeling after hackers defaced not one, not two, but three of its corporate websites in just half an hour. Then, to add insult to injury, a fourth Microsoft site was compromised by the same hacker before being defaced again by another group.

• Hackers Take Down More Malaysian Sites (Newsbytes)
  Internet vandals defaced eight more Malaysian government sites, highlighting the lax security and poor maintenance among local network administrators. A group known as "Silver Lords" claimed responsibility through the German-based defacement mirror site Alldas.de.

• Les cartes à puce pirates pourraient passer au stade industriel (Le Monde)
  Un logiciel favorisant la création de clones de cartes de paiement circulerait sur Internet. Le Groupement des Cartes bancaires va jusqu'à réclamer l'interdiction de la publication de ces informations.

• Microsoft bringt zwei Patches (ZDNet Deutschland)
  Microsoft hat vor einem Sicherheitsloch in den Frontpage Server-Erweiterungen des Internet Information Servers (IIS) in der Version 4.0 und 5.0 gewarnt.

• Microsoft reveals Web server hole (CNET News.com)
  Microsoft said that a "serious vulnerability" in its flagship Web server software used by computers running more than 6 million sites could allow hackers and online vandals to take control of the computers.

• Nasty mobile e-mail scares Japan (ZDNet News)
  NTT DoCoMo warns of an e-mail, if opened, will dial an emergency number, make calls to a large number of people or crash the consumer's cell phone. Japanese wireless phone giant NTT DoCoMo warned the company's 24 million mobile Internet service subscribers that a malicious e-mail could be making its way to their phones.

• Porn spam flood swamps Usenet (Register)
  A Windows-based Trojan horse program has swamped Internet discussion groups, including a forum for discussing computer viruses, with child pornography ads.

• Security pros dig in for new DoS attacks (eWEEK)
  Distributed denial-of-service attacks - which by some estimates total more than 4,000 a week - are likely to get much worse as the perpetrators hone their skills and new weaknesses in popular platforms are discovered and exploited.

• Senator demands report on power grid hack (Reuters)
  A California state lawmaker asked the manager of the state's power grid to detail the steps it has taken to prevent its computer network from being hacked again after an earlier breach that is being investigated by the FBI.

• Sicherheitsloch bei T-Online Webmail heute geschlossen (Heise)
  T-Online hat die jüngst bekannt gewordene Sicherheitslücke in T-Online Webmail zuverlässig geschlossen. Angreifer konnten bis dahin durch einen vergleichsweise simplen Trick die Schutzmaßnahmen umgehen und Passwörter fremder Webmail-Accounts ändern und die Konten von innen verriegeln

• The Attacks on GRC.COM (Gibson Research Corporation)
  The Strange Tale of the Attacks Against GRC.COM. Nothing more than the whim of a 13-year old hacker is required to knock any user, site, or server right off the Internet.

• The end of the code war? (Economist)
  The use of quantum mechanics to encrypt messages may foil eavesdroppers and code-breakers for good

• The good, the bad and the ugly (Economist)
  Can computer viruses ever be a force for progress? Some virus writers wish their fellow users well, and have been spreading viruses that are designed to do good, not harm.

• U.S.: Fear Countries, Not Hackers (Wired)
  Forget the supposed menace of teen hackers casually bypassing the security of U.S. military computers. The real worry is foreign governments, according to a hearing organized by the U.S. Congress' Joint Economic Committee.

Issue no. 200 - 14 June 2001

• Always-on GPRS a hacker's dream (vnunet)
  The threat from hackers breaking into corporate networks through always-on GPRS devices is poised to grow exponentially and add millions of pounds to system management costs.

• Commission boosts security on the Internet (RAPID)
  In response to the request by the Stockholm European Council on 23-24 March 2001, the European Commission launched a series of policy recommendations for network security. see Network and Information Security: Proposal for a European Policy Approach.

• DoS worm invades Microsoft servers (ZDNet News)
  A program created to automatically overload Microsoft's Web and e-mail servers has been discovered on several corporate networks and may have spread further on the Internet. The worm - dubbed DoS.Storm - spreads on Web servers running Microsoft software and is designed to use the infected servers to level an Internet attack against the company.

• Hackers deface EC Web site in 2nd incident (ISG)
  Dutch hackers yesterday defaced the Safer Internet Exchange, a Web site sponsored by the European Commission that promotes a safer Internet. Security at the site had been increased last week after other hackers raised a red flag about possible vulnerabilities. see also EU's safer Internet site hacked and down (Register), Hackers taunt EC with site defacement and European 'safer Internet' site hit by hackers (IDG).

• Hackers hit computers running California power grid (Reuters)
  A computer system that controls much of the flow of electricity across California was under siege from hackers for at least 17 days during the height of the state's ongoing power crisis.

• Hacker-tracking site throws in the towel (ZDNet News)
  While e-business may have slumped, online vandalism has been booming, according to Attrition.org. The nonprofit security site announced its decision to stop tracking the defacement of Web pages by online vandals because the volunteer staff can no longer keep up with the volume of defacements.

• Microsoft: We messed up (ZDNet)
  Microsoft contritely acknowledged that its second attempt to fix an Exchange security hole went awry. Rather than fix the problem--and the security hole--the company's second attempt at a software patch included a catastrophic bug that caused many servers to hang.

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