NIPC Daily Report 07/23/02 Are hacking defenses winning the war? The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) states that cybercrime is on the rise and that 26,800 incidents were reported during the first six months of 2002. The methods that hackers use to attack computers have improved over the past year. Malware tools combined with other hacker tools represent a significant threat to Web services and have become an intrinsic part of the Internet. Denial of service (DoS) attacks are still the most common threat. These DoS attacks utilize numerous systems to target a domain. The Web services are a vulnerable, yet critical business service, and exploitation of these services could lead to revenue loss. (NewsFactor, 18 Jul)
The year of the Web worm. The Internet was hit by the Code Red worm in 2001, and the effects have caused many experts to fear that malware could cripple the Internet. This fear rose with an Internet traffic slow-down that initially was attributed to rising worm infections. The slow-down is believed to have been caused by a train crash in Baltimore, MD that cut communication cables. Still, the major outbreak of Code Red has not caused the Internet to become more secure, and more known vulnerabilities have surfaced this year than last year at this time. In addition, the theoretical Warhol worm is also intensifying fears that the Internet may be crippled with proliferation of malware that can spread almost instantaneously. (BBC, 19 Jul) WWU Comment: Although the Internet traffic slow-down is believed to have been caused by a train crash in Baltimore, MD and not malware, this is indicative of the potential for coordinated, compound cyber and physical attacks, referred to as swarming attacks, that is an emerging threat to US critical infrastructure. Fire department reviewing procedures. The New York City Fire Department is conducting a major review of its procedures. The study of departmental procedures, due out in August 2002, is expected to propose roughly two dozen far-reaching changes in light of the terrorist attacks. The findings are closely guarded, but experts interviewed for the study said they have discussed different evacuation techniques such as rooftop rescues, the need to protect senior officers by keeping them farther from the scene of a catastrophe, and the importance of tighter, more disciplined command procedures. (Associated Press, 22 Jul) Boeing awarded $23 million FAA air security contract. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded Boeing Co. with a $23 million, 21-month contract on 17 July 2002 to investigate merging air traffic control and communication technologies to increase security. The FAA hopes to provide air traffic controllers and security personnel with timely information about the status of in-flight aircraft. Boeing will incorporate satellite technology and Connexion, in-flight Internet service, into its research. (Forbes, 18 Jul) IWS INFOCON Mailing List @ IWS - The Information Warfare Site http://www.iwar.org.uk
