Feds warn of mass hacker attacks - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

JadziaDax · 07-02-2003, 04:56 PM

After a phone call from a relative telling me of some 4th of July hacker attack that's planned as part of a contest, I searched the web and found the following article... tell me what you think (or what you find).

Feds warn of mass hacker attacks
Attack on thousands of Web sites said planned for Sunday
Associated Press
Washington, July 2, 2003

Quote:

The government and private technology experts warned Wednesday that hackers plan to attack thousands of Web sites Sunday in a loosely coordinated “contest” that could disrupt Internet traffic.

Organizers established a Web site, defacers-challenge.com, which was shut down early Wednesday evening. Before it was removed, the site listed in broken English the rules for hackers who might participate. It cautioned that “deface its crime” — an apparent acknowledgment that vandalizing Internet pages is illegal.

“The FBI is taking this very seriously,” FBI spokesman Bill Murray said. “Hacking is a crime and those who participate in this activity will be investigated and brought to justice.”

The Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday it was aware of the hackers’ plans but did not expect to issue any formal public warnings. The Chief Information Officers Council, part of the Office of Management and Budget, cautioned U.S. agencies and instructed experts to tighten security at federal Web sites.

“Frankly, hacker challenges occur frequently, and we don’t think they all rise to the level of a warning,” Homeland Security spokesman David Wray said.

Affinity Internet Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which operated through a subsidiary the computer servers where the hacker Web site was located, shut down the site for violating a service agreement, Affinity spokeswoman Laura Weir said. The company declined to identify the Affinity customer who set up the Internet site, citing privacy restrictions. Records show the Web address was registered June 21.

Murray said the FBI was trying to identify who set up the Web site.

Home Internet users, who typically do not operate Web sites, probably would not be affected directly, said Oliver Friedrichs, the senior manager for security response at Symantec Corp.

An early-warning network for the technology industry, operating with Homeland Security, notified companies that it received “credible information” about the planned attacks and already has detected surveillance probes by hackers looking for weaknesses in corporate and government networks.

“We emphasize that all Web site administrators should ensure that their sites are not vulnerable,” wrote Peter Allor of Internet Security Systems Inc., the Atlanta-based company that runs the Information Technology Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

Friedrichs, though, said Symantec’s global monitoring network wasn’t detecting unusual probes.

“We really haven’t seen any of that activity,” he said. “We’re certainly going to keep watching and looking.”

Separately, the New York Office of Cyber-Security and Critical Infrastructure Coordination warned Internet providers and other organizations that the goal of the hackers was to vandalize 6,000 Web sites in six hours.

SAND-BAGGING PERIOD
New York officials urged companies to change default computer passwords, begin monitoring Web site activities more aggressively, remove unnecessary functions from server computers and apply the latest software repairs from vendors such as Microsoft Corp.

Chris Rouland, director of the X-force security team at ISS, said researchers monitoring underground chat rooms and other Internet activity detected a drop in the numbers of vandalized Web sites recently and an increase in the types of surveillance scans that typically precede computer break-ins.

“It’s kind of a sand-bagging period,” said Rouland, who predicted that hackers were quietly breaking into computers and waiting to vandalize them on Sunday.

The purported “prize” for participating hackers was 500-megabytes of online storage space, which made little sense to computer experts. They said hackers capable of breaking into thousands of computers could easily steal that amount of storage on corporate networks.

MikeyChalupa · 07-02-2003, 06:16 PM

Glad I fly home from vacation on Saturday...

-Mikey

juanvaldes · 07-02-2003, 06:29 PM

It's not exactly a secret

Phaenx · 07-02-2003, 06:55 PM

Yeah, I'd think the FBI would have taken a look at the list and let said companies know. RIAA.org of course is on that list I bet. In any case, I hope the "victims" are ready to rock, I love seeing hackers go to jail.

richeee · 07-02-2003, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Phaenx
Yeah, I'd think the FBI would have taken a look at the list and let said companies know. RIAA.org of course is on that list I bet. In any case, I hope the "victims" are ready to rock, I love seeing hackers go to jail.

Have to agree with Phaenx ! Ihope any and all of these hackers end up with legal problems...
Is TFP protected?

Church · 07-02-2003, 08:43 PM

I'm sorry, this is just a pet peeve of mine. The people in question are called 'Crackers', not hackers. Hacking was originally a term for someone who has a broad knowledge of computers and their language. Example, the first Windows OS was concieved by Bill Gates and his team hacking some code. It was then later pinned on internet punks who like to cause trouble and break into websites. These type of people are called crackers. I'm not talking to anyone in particular about this, I just wanted it to be known. Thanks.

BBtB · 07-03-2003, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Phaenx
Yeah, I'd think the FBI would have taken a look at the list and let said companies know. RIAA.org of course is on that list I bet. In any case, I hope the "victims" are ready to rock, I love seeing hackers go to jail.

I wouldn't mind seeing them go to jail but at the same time I hope the RIAA some how looses atleast few million in the deal.

07-02-2003, 06:55 PM	#4 (permalink)
Phaenx The Northern Ward Location: Columbus, Ohio	Yeah, I'd think the FBI would have taken a look at the list and let said companies know. RIAA.org of course is on that list I bet. In any case, I hope the "victims" are ready to rock, I love seeing hackers go to jail. __________________ "I went shopping last night at like 1am. The place was empty and this old woman just making polite conversation said to me, 'where is everyone??' I replied, 'In bed, same place you and I should be!' Took me ten minutes to figure out why she gave me a dirty look." --Some guy

07-02-2003, 06:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
MikeyChalupa Squid Location: USS George Washington	Glad I fly home from vacation on Saturday... -Mikey

07-02-2003, 06:29 PM	#3 (permalink)
juanvaldes Banned Location: shittown, CA	It's not exactly a secret

07-02-2003, 08:43 PM	#6 (permalink)
Church Tilted F*ckhead Location: New Jersey	I'm sorry, this is just a pet peeve of mine. The people in question are called 'Crackers', not hackers. Hacking was originally a term for someone who has a broad knowledge of computers and their language. Example, the first Windows OS was concieved by Bill Gates and his team hacking some code. It was then later pinned on internet punks who like to cause trouble and break into websites. These type of people are called crackers. I'm not talking to anyone in particular about this, I just wanted it to be known. Thanks.