Hackers have released new tools that could make attacks like those that temporarily shut down popular Web sites such as eBay and Amazon.com earlier this month even easier, a computer security firm says today.
The new tools could misuse Microsoft Windows NT, 95, 98 and 2000-based systems to launch a massive amount of data that would overwhelm a Web site,says David Perry, a spokesman for antivirus software vendor Trend Micro.
Two weeks ago, in one of the most publicized computer attacks ever, several networks were closed down due to continuous streams of data being launched from computers running on Sun's Solaris operating systems, Perry says. The use of the Solaris Unix OS required some expertise to initiate, while knowledge of the Windows operating systems family is widespread, Perry says.
"The only difference from the tools used [two weeks ago] and those released this week is that someone now has taken an agent and made it work on Windows," Perry says. "But the Windows-based machines are an order of magnitude easier to use than the others [based on Solaris]."
No attacks from Windows-based machines have been reported since the new tools were posted on an Internet bulletin board Saturday night, Perry says.
In the so-called denial-of-service attacks two weeks ago, bits of data were distributed to a multitude of computers around the world. These data "sleepers" were then simultaneously sent to networks, overwhelming them.
The hackers who posted the latest tools Saturday are seemingly not connected to those who engineered the recent attack, Perry says. "There's an army of teenagers out there in the hacker world," he says. "It's the computer equivalent of graffiti."
The FBI is continuing its investigation into the recent attacks, which are believed to originate from networks that include the University of California at Santa Barbara and Stanford University. Market research company The Yankee Group estimated the attacks have cost the IT industry upward of $1.2 billion.
Microsoft monitored the attacks and has updated its security apparatus, says Adam Sohn, a Microsoft spokesman.
IT professionals configuring networks can get advice on security maintenance by going to Microsoft's Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/security and reading a bulletin entitled "Security Considerations for Network Attacks," Sohn says.
Trend Micro, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, can be reached at its North American headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., at +1-408-257-1500 or via the Internet at http://www.antivirus.com/.
RELATED LINKS
Network Fusion.
Internet Security Advisors Group
The FBI's Denial of Service Information area
Steps for dealing with an
attack
Includes information about security products.
Internet
Security Systems.
Report: Common Vulnerabilities and
Exposures
Background about the perils of information
sharing.
Mitre.
