-Caveat Lector- >From http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46872-2002Oct31.html
washingtonpost.com Root-Server Attack Traced to South Korea, U.S. By Brian Krebs washingtonpost.com Staff Writer Thursday, October 31, 2002; 3:30 PM Last week's attacks on the Internet's backbone likely emanated from computers in the United States and South Korea, FBI Director Robert Mueller today said. "The investigation is ongoing," Mueller said at an Internet security conference in Falls Church, Va. He did not offer more details on the investigation, nor did he outline the evidence investigators have gathered so far. Last Monday, a distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack struck the 13 "root" servers that provide the primary road map for the Internet. A subsequent and possibly related attack targeted the "name" servers that house Internet domains like dot-com and dot-info. East Asia is a major source of cyber crime and computer attacks, in part because of the relatively high number of broadband users in the region's countries. High-speed Internet service is essential to DDOS attacks, in which hackers use dozens -- and often hundreds -- of commandeered computers to overwhelm targeted networks with a flood of Internet traffic. South Korea boasts nearly as many broadband users (8 million) as the U.S. and has more broadband connections per capita than any other country. "We've tracked a total of at least 80,000 zombie machines in South Korea that are trivially exploitable and usable for these kinds of attacks," said Johannes Ullrich, chief technology officer for the Internet Storm Center, which tracks the source and type of cyberattacks worldwide. "These are machines that have ready-made back doors that allow them to be used to target other networks." According to several recent studies, only the United States surpasses South Korea as an origin of computer attacks. Such statistics don't necessarily prove the actual source of cyber attacks, since attackers frequently can mask their identities and locations. But armed with the right technology, investigators can frequently identify the Web addresses of computers used to issue or direct the zombie computers to attack their target, said Alan Paller, research director for the SANS Institute, a nonprofit computer security research and training group. "Investigators can often trace these attacks with the right kinds of tools," Paller said. "This kind of tracing can be hard to do during the attack, but can often yield results after the fact." Mueller's remarks today came in a speech in which he encouraged private industry to cooperate with law enforcement in fighting cyber crime. He also discussed his agency's likely role in cyber security under a newly formed homeland security agency. � 2002 TechNews.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; I don't believe everything I read or send (but that doesn't stop me from considering it; obviously SOMEBODY thinks it's important) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." --- Ernest Hemingway <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http://archive.jab.org/ctrl@;listserv.aol.com/ <A HREF="http://archive.jab.org/ctrl@;listserv.aol.com/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
