Geo: Take a look

Slynky · #1 July 2nd, 2003, 06:52 PM

Hacker Alert for Sunday

Thought I'd post this just in case. After all, PBW is one of the most important sites around.

Gryphin · #2 July 3rd, 2003, 12:17 AM

the allert is for Sunday but i feel they have already started, (I think), as I have had trouble hitting 2 pages here and 2 others on the web.

[ July 02, 2003, 23:28: Message edited by: Gryphin ]

tbontob · #3 July 3rd, 2003, 01:23 AM

Yes, I just heard it on CNN.

Apparently there is a contest to see who can disrupt the most websites on Sunday.

It goes without saying that hackers attempt to disrupt websites all the time. But if they all come out in force (including the wanna-be hackers), and if they are using this time to prepare for the assault (such as new programs etc), well there could be significant damage done to a lot of sites on Sunday.

I don't know how much of this is really an issue. There must be millions and millions of websites. So how many can hackers affect?

Maybe a lot, if a large number of hackers are using a automated programs which do not require hands on by the hacker.

If this is a "significant" threat, I personally would have no problems with the shutting down the forum and other SE4 sites as well as PBW for the day. Others may feel differently.

I think the issues which must be addressed are:
1) Is this a significant threat?
2) If it is, what action should be taken to minimize it.

Maybe Geoschmo can shed some light on this when he gets more information.

[ July 03, 2003, 00:27: Message edited by: tbontob ]

Jack Simth · #4 July 3rd, 2003, 01:31 AM

Just make a CD backup. If the site gets demolished, no biggie - you can blank everything and restore from backup; you're down for a day, tops. For added safety, set the password to a bunch of random numbers and letters (which you write down!); random numbers & letters aren't subject to dictionary attacks, so the site will be a little safer.

Fyron · #5 July 3rd, 2003, 02:21 AM

If someone with the talent really wanted to, he/she could take over about 90% of the web servers on the planet in about 5 minutes... security is not really very good.

Arkcon · #6 July 3rd, 2003, 04:46 AM

Yeah, everyone, myself included tends to whine about exploits/bugs/openings in the Microsoft OS. But someone once told me that the real lack of security is in the UNIX backbone of major systems. They gave me some examples, and all I can say is

Administrators just don't put the effort they should in security, and the various UNIX implemetations just aren't designed to be secure from the ground up.