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The freedom and interoperability of the Internet may be its own demise.
By Daniel Eaton
The freedom and interoperability of the Internet may be its own demise. The recent Denial of Service attacks against some of the most respected web sites shows how vulnerable the Internet really is.
First a brief description on what exactly is denial of service. DoS can most easily be compared to a radio show that offers a reward for the 10th caller. I'm sure everyone has tried to call one of these promotions at least once in their life. What was you experience? You received either a busy signal or a friendly message saying that all circuits are busy. The radio station that you are calling cannot distinguish that you are calling for the promotion are calling for some other business. Either way it is a legitimate call to the station. The principle of a DoS attacks is quite similar but substantially more sinister.
One of the more profound DoS system was discovered last October called Stacheldraht (Barbed Wire in German). Here is how it works. It is spread much like a virus, however it will not be detected as a virus on your server because it is benign to your system. Although it does modify files, it doesn't effect your system as traditional viruses do. It sits on your server. It waits and listens for instructions from its master. Eventually it will obtain it instructions, the day, the time of day, and the target web site. It acts much like relay station. At that time, your server will begin to make valid although not intentional request for information to the target web site. Since the request appears to be valid, the web site will attempt to deliver the information.
Take the previous example and multiply it by a few hundred, a few thousand, a few hundred of thousands, all working in concert with one another on machines who's owner isn't even aware of what is happening. At a precise day and time the target web site is overwhelmed with requests, disabling the systems. Some day the FBI will knock on your door and accuse you of computer tampering.
Any system connected to the Internet is vulnerable. That includes the often overlooked Apple Macintosh systems whose owners are deeply incensed that their machines can do no wrong. As a matter of fact MAC OS9 has been noted as vulnerable.
Well, where are we headed? If you are computer user, you most likely have taken steps to protect you own system against viruses. Virus's are like flat tires, eventually you will get one. We protect our cars with a spare. We protect our computers with backups and virus software to stay one step ahead. Well folks, that is not enough. We must not only watch out for our own systems, we must take steps to protect others as well. The best defense is a good offense. Be responsible and use due diligence as the Internet is a community.
What protection can we take? First, be certain that you are familiar with system. This is especially true of the many Linux products that are available on store shelves today. Second, use the tools that are available such as firewall to protect your networks. New products are developing to help analyze systems that do not have the benefits of a firewall or cannot afford one. One such service is provide free of charge By MyCIO.com and Network Associates. They provide an online scan of your computer. It appears to be a great weapon against the DDoS attacks and helps detect vulnerabilities. These threats are very serious and we must do everything in our power to help control them.
The future? I see a growth of private networks. This virtual private network will offer greater control computers on the network to hedge such problems.