Today's ISN Sponsor: Repent Security Incorporated
Internet may be Hackers Best Friend
The Internet may be the computer hacker's best friend. The
international computer network has made the sharing of
sophisticated break-in tools easier, computer security experts
say.
``It's a byproduct of what makes the Internet so wonderful. It's
open and it's free,'' said Richard Power, editorial director of
the San Francisco-based Computer Security Institute.
Links between hackers _ those who invade other computers or
computer systems _ surfaced this week when one of two California
teen-agers under FBI investigation for invading Pentagon
computers said he worked with a master hacker based in another
country.
In an unrelated incident Monday, an unknown hacker caused
thousands of Windows-based university and government computers
to crash on the eve of Senate testimony by Microsoft Corp.
Chairman Bill Gates, authorities said.
The attack affected nine of NASA's 10 major field offices as
well as the University of California at Berkeley and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Hackers have always tended to share information and work in
loose affiliation, Power said.
``What's more important now is the communications,'' he said.
``They now have Web sites and Internet relay chat lines. You
don't have to be an elite hacker to bring down a network.''
Hackers are banding together ``almost like a street gang, except
they're hackers,'' said John Vranesovich, head of AntiOnline
(http://www.antionline.com), a computer security Web site based
in Pittsburgh. ``There are literally hundreds of them.''
``People are starting to develop the software that does a lot of
the work,'' allowing even inexperienced hackers to ratchet up
their break-in capabilities, he said.
Whatever the upshot of the case in California, the damage from
amateur break-ins by outsiders pales in comparison to the cost
of in-house sabotage.
A report released Wednesday by the Computer Security Institute
noted that while both external and internal computer crime is on
the rise, the greatest losses result from unauthorized access by
insiders.
``Those are the attacks that cause tens of millions of
dollars,'' Power said.
But it's still the outside jobs that grab headlines. A Defense
Department official last week termed the attack linked to the
young hackers ``the most organized and systematic attack the
Pentagon has seen to date.''
There is little evidence that the Pentagon hackers caused much
damage to Defense Department computer networks, or made off with
sensitive information, said Jonathan Littman, who wrote a book _
``The Fugitive Game'' -- about computer hacking.
``So far the two kids in Cloverdale appear to be typical amateur
hackers,'' Littman said. The suspects are high school students
in Cloverdale, Calif.
Vranesovich said hacker groups are not necessarily motivated by
hate. ``The most common motive seems to be free speech, free
exchange of ideas and information,'' he said.
If you wish to receive ISN directly, mail majordomo@sekurity.org with "subscribe isn".
ISN is a non-profit list designed to keep Security Professionals aware.
Received on Sat Mar 14 16:25:49 1998