Hackers hint of plan to unleash havoc
( 2003-08-01 13:05) (Agencies)
US Government and industry
experts consider brewing hacker activity a precursor to a broad Internet attack
that would target enormous numbers of computers vulnerable from a flaw in
Windows software from Microsoft Corp.
Experts described an unusual confluence of conditions that heightens
prospects for a serious disruption soon. They cite the high numbers of potential
victims and increasingly sophisticated attack tools already tested successfully
by hackers recently.
An alert distributed Thursday among US government agencies warned of
"widespread scanning and exploitation" of victim computers by hackers who were
developing "improved and automated exploit tools."
The Homeland Security Department cautioned Wednesday that it had detected an
"Internet-wide increase in scanning" for victim computers. In an unusually
ominous alert, it warned the threat could cause a "significant impact" on the
Internet.
Experts advised computer users with renewed urgency to apply a free repairing
patch that Microsoft has offered on its Web site since July 16, when it
acknowledged that the flaw affected nearly all versions of its flagship Windows
operating system software. Applying Microsoft's repairing patch takes a few
moments for home users but is a more daunting challenge for large corporations.
The Microsoft flaw affects Windows technology used to share data files across
computer networks. It involves a category of vulnerabilities known as "buffer
overflows," which can trick software into accepting dangerous commands.
"People are definitely aggressively trying to patch this," said Ken Dunham,
an analyst at iDefense Inc., an online security company.
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