LINUX SECURITY --- May 15, 2001 Published by ITworld.com -- changing the way you view IT http://www.itworld.com/newsletters __________________________________________________________________________ ______ HIGHLIGHTS * Paranoia and the media continue sensationalizing electronic graffiti. __________________________________________________________________________ ____ Cyberwar or just plain vandalism? By Rick Johnson If you've tuned into CNN recently, then you've heard the term "cyberwar" rolling off reporters' tongues as naturally as "hacker" a few months ago. The recent tension between the U.S. and China has made this term a household word. Even my own family has been asking questions about this new brand of terrorism being reported on television. It all began when U.S. hackers launched hostilities in response to the April 1 collision between a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese fighter. They broke into hundreds of Chinese sites, leaving messages such as "We will hate China forever and we will hack its sites." The Honker Union, an informal network of Chinese hackers, responded by announcing on May 1 it would launch a retaliatory strike. I should note that the Honkers claim to differ from other hackers because they do not act out of malice. Most of these attacks were against unpatched and vulnerable Windows and Linux servers, waiting on the Internet for anyone to simply take them over with publicly available exploits. Once again, system administrators not properly performing their jobs. Any ten year old could have defaced these Web sites. Adding fuel to the fire, the U.S. National Infrastructure Protection Center (http://www.nipc.gov) issued a warning that Chinese hackers would attack U.S. Web sites between April 30 and May 7 to remember the downed pilot, celebrate May Day (May 1) and Youth Day (May 4), and commemorate the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (May 7). Security firms, looking to appear at the top of their game, issued press releases and gave statements to reporters eager to jump on the "cyberwar" bandwagon. Furthermore, a statement by the so-called Honker Union of China (who took their name from the Chinese word for "Red hackers") said that, having attacked 1,000 Web sites; their goal had been reached. Any further attacks are not their doing. The media has blown this out of proportion. Defacing Web sites hardly constitute a war, nor should it be considered terrorism. Talk to the brave men and women who have served their countries and ask them to define a "real war". It doesn't matter which war, what side they fought for, or even if their own government was afraid to classify the military action as a war. Now mention terrorism and Web site defacement in the same sentence -- they will simply laugh at you. If these overactive computer users are terrorists, then so is the neighborhood kid with a can of spray paint. Real terrorism is very different from these incidents of Internet graffiti; no one is shipped home in a box when their Web site is defaced. About the author(s) ------------------- Rick Johnson is currently involved in a number of projects, none of which he can discuss at this time. Aren't non-disclosure agreements wonderful? When not involved with those, he heads the development team for PMFirewall, an Ipchains Firewall and Masquerading Configuration Utility for Linux. Rick can be contacted via email at rick@pointman.org or on the web at http://www.pointman.org. __________________________________________________________________________ ______ ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Cyberwar fallout Web defacements are nothing new http://www.itworld.com/jump/linsec_nl/www.itworld.com/Sec/2052/UIR010511se curitynl2/ U.S.-China cyberwar a dud, though trouble still lingers http://www.itworld.com/jump/linsec_nl/www.itworld.com/Sec/2199/IDG010510ch ina/ U.S.-China hacker brawl draws few Web combatants http://www.itworld.com/jump/linsec_nl/www.itworld.com/Sec/2199/NWW01050712 0414/ US-China cyberwar: Fact or fear-mongering? Since April 1, hackers have vandalized 360 Websites in the two countries http://www.itworld.com/jump/linsec_nl/www.itworld.com/Sec/2199/CWD010502ST O60116/ __________________________________________________________________________ ______
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