Commentary on news coverage of attacks

["E. Allen Smith" <EALLENSMITH@ocelot.Rutgers.EDU>]

	I thought it was interesting to note what got deleted - namely
cryptographic (signature) protection against such attacks - and what got
included - namely faked addresses. You can get the original NYT version via
JYA.
	-Allen

>     _________________________________________________________________
>   webslingerZ
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>            CONCERN AT RASH OF ATTACKS BY HACKERS ON INTERNET SITES
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>      Copyright &copy 1996 Nando.net
>      Copyright &copy 1996 The Financial Times
      
>   SAN FRANCISCO (Sep 19, 1996 00:23 a.m. EDT) -- A rash of hacker
>   attacks on commercial Internet sites -- including one in which the
>   services of Panix, a New York-based Internet access provider, were
>   seriously disrupted -- has raised new concerns about the security and
>   reliability of the worldwide computer network.
   
[...]

>   Attacks have been "isolated incidents," said Pete Solvik,
>   vice-president of information systems at Cisco Systems, the leading
>   manufacturer of routing equipment for the Internet. The company,
>   however, is concerned that the problem could spread, disrupting
>   Internet service for millions of users and effectively closing down
>   large commercial sites on the Internet.
   
>   With many banks and retailers now planning Internet services, the
>   potential for financial losses as a result of such attacks is rising.
>   Disruption of Internet service can also be a serious problem for the
>   tens of thousands of businesses that now rely on electronic mail and
>   sites on the World Wide Web to communicate with their partners and
>   customers.
   
>   The impact of a large-scale "denial-of-service attack" can be
>   devastating, said Solvik. Within a minute, a computer linked to the
>   Internet can be completely overwhelmed and it may take days before
>   service can be restored.
   
[...]

>   Because the attacks came from fake addresses on the Internet, it was
>   "impossible to trace the source without a major effort on the part of
>   all Internet service providers between Panix and the attacking party,"
>   said Rosen.
   
>   "The nature of the Internet, which is designed to let machines
>   communicate with a minimum exchange of identifying information, makes
>   every site on the Internet vulnerable," said Rosen.
   
>   The Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York Computer Investigations
>   Threat Assessment Center is understood to be investigating the attack
>   on Panix. Computer Emergency Response Teams, a US organization that
>   collates information about security and technical problems on the
>   Internet, are looking into the incident.
   
[...]

>    Copyright &copy 1996 Nando.net