Hackers' all-out global attack (9 am to 3 pm Estonian time July 6)

Herald Sun ^ | July 3, 2003 | TED BRIDIS

[FairOpinion]

COMPUTER hackers are expected to launch a global attack on the Internet today as part of an illegal contest aimed at causing widespread chaos.

Cyber rebels around the world will each aim to attack and disable 6000 websites in six hours. Security has been tightened on United States Government and corporate websites.

Computer experts noticed a global surge in surveillance scans this week - something that typically precedes computer break-ins.

Contest organisers listed the rules of the hacking contest on defacers-challenge.com.

The site opened on June 21 and was closed on Wednesday, but technology experts fear many of the world's most dangerous hackers had entered the contest.

They say the contest could severely hamper Internet traffic today. Those working with US security operatives had received "credible information" about planned attacks.

They also detected surveillance probes by hackers looking for weaknesses in corporate and government networks.

"We emphasise that all website administrators should ensure their sites are not vulnerable," Peter Allor, of Atlanta-based Internet Security Systems, said.

Experts urged companies to change default computer passwords, begin monitoring website activity more aggressively, remove unnecessary functions from server computers and apply the latest software repairs.

One firm, Internet Security Systems, raised its warning level to 2 on a scale of 1 to 4, suggesting increased vigilance.

"We strongly encourage system administrators to review their current security policies and ensure that all current and known security issues have been addressed," the company said.

[FairOpinion]

The article linked to the hackers challenge website:

http://www.defacers-challenge.com/

I went and looked and they give a specific time frame: 9 am to 3 pm Estonian time.

Current Estonian time is: 6:50 am http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=242

That looks like 2 am EDT to 8 am EDT.

If each group or person is trying to deface 6000 website, assuming that there are probably thousands of hackers out there, there are going to be an awful lot of websites defaced.

It turns out it's night anyway, but I personally think it's a very good idea to stay off the web during that time on general principles.

[ward_of_the_state]

Only in the 21st Century. These fools probably have no clue how to use a pen and paper. Their IQ's are probably so high that comes back around to bite 'em in the you-know-what.

[dighton]

If they think it's worth prison, who am I to argue?

[FairOpinion]

Most of them won't be caught.

I just found a more recent article:

Security Groups Warn of Hacking Contest on Sunday
Sat Jul 5, 3:39 PM ET
By Elinor Mills Abreu


The Information Technology -- Information Sharing and Analysis Center (IT-ISAC), which monitors the Web for possible threats, learned of "Defacer's Challenge" on a Web site last week, according to Pete Allor, director of operations for the group. IT-ISAC is run by Atlanta-based security provider Internet Security Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:ISSX - news)


According to the Web site, which had been taken off the Internet by Wednesday afternoon, hackers were urged to prove their skills by defacing as many Web sites as they could during a six-hour period on Sunday morning, Allor said.


In just one indication of how sweeping the damage could be, participants were not to deface more than 6,000 Web sites, according to the contest rules posted online. They would be awarded points based on the type of operating system running on the Web server they hacked, according to Allor.


For example, people breaking into servers running Windows would get 1 point, while break-ins of servers running the Mac operating system or the HP-UX version of Unix (news - web sites), widely perceived to be more secure than Windows, would get 5 points, he said.


The winner purportedly will get 500 megabytes of free data storage and free e-mail, the notice said.


Officials were investigating who was responsible, Allor said. However, the FBI (news - web sites) was not immediately available to comment on how seriously it viewed the threat.


Web hosting companies, Internet service providers and corporations that have a lot of Web sites are most at risk, he said.


To prevent being victimized they should consider, if feasible, disconnecting their Web sites from the Internet, Allor advised. He said they should also check their operating system and applications for vulnerabilities and patch them, and install software that will detect and block network intrusions, Allor advised.


But Allor warned that it may already be too late for some companies, since hackers very often install stealth back-door programs that allow them to easily get in at a later date.


"Hackers are already scanning to see who is vulnerable and are getting prepared to hack them this weekend," Allor said.


"If you are waiting for the hacking to take place on Sunday you've probably missed the boat," he said. Potential participants "are at the reconnaissance stage now and some of the active hacking may have already taken place."


Web site defacements, usually the digital equivalent to graffiti, can be costly to clean up after, Allor said. They also are worrisome because hackers may do more damage beyond superficial defacement, he added.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=575&u=/nm/20030705/wr_nm/tech_hacking_contest_dc_1&printer=1

[dighton]

Most of them won't be caught.

Small consolation for those who are.

[Ronaldus Magnus]

9 am to 3 pm Estonian time

Are they sure that this isn't an Elbonian contest?

[ManxyGal]

For my home network (which is currently down to just a home PC, as I'm packing to move and all my other PCs are in boxes), I use a hardware firewall/router. I noticed that in the past few days it's logged many more port scans than usual.

[LiteKeeper]

INTREP

[fire_eye]

Hopefully, FBI will throw some of these cute, innocent, pimply-faced little nerds straight into jail cells with 300-lb. Bruno.

Once word of *that* experience gets out into the "Hacker" "Community", maybe the "script kiddies" will cease thinking about how much "Fun" it all is...

[blondee123]

It should be 2 a.m eastern time now, don't notice any hacking of any BIG sites that I've checked, yet.