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(Dot collection, to be connected.)
Curiously on August 12th, just days before the blackout:

Warning of Internet terrorism threat
Jennifer Dudley
12aug03

MICROSOFT'S chief security expert yesterday warned Australian businesses to be prepared for terrorist attacks using the Internet.



Chief security strategist Scott Charney warned information technology professionals at Microsoft's Tech Ed conference in Brisbane they were "the first line of defence" against terrorists using the Internet to endanger public safety and national security.

Mr Charney said terrorist groups were using the Internet to organise members and warned businesses not to be complacent about their potential security threat.

"Terrorists clearly use the Internet as a communications medium, fundraising medium and for website communications," he said. "We need to work on critical infrastructure protection."

Mr Charney said governments had become dependent on IT infrastructure, but 85 per cent was owned by the private sector.

It was therefore up to businesses to guard against "a whole new set of threats".

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Also, from internetnews.com

July 31, 2003
Security Experts On Alert for Large-Scale Hacker Assault
By Sharon Gaudin

The security industry is on alert that an upswing in hacker activity could be signaling the coming of a broad-scale attack that could potentially affect millions of networks.
The increased hacker activity is pinpointing a vulnerability in Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system. A problem with the Windows RPC Interface Buffer Overrun was first disclosed on July 16. Security experts say hackers started experimenting with the vulnerability almost immediately, and the rate of system probes and online chatter about the vulnerability has been skyrocketing. ...