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Router hack attack could
expose home network users
 Home
network users could be vulnerable to attacks from hackers who can alter
the configuration of a broadband router or wireless access point. According
to Symantec’s researchers’ proof-of-concept, the problem stems from inexpensive
plug-and-play broadband routers. These devices are shipped from the factory
with a default password that most home users would never think to change.
Hackers, however, are aware of the risk these unchanged passwords pose,
when combined with a Web site that includes malicious JavaScript code.
The attack is twofold. First, the hacker creates a phony Web page that
includes the malignant JavaScript code. When a home user views the page,
the code, running in the context of a Web browser, uses a technique known
as Cross Site Request Forger and logs into the user’s home broadband router.
In general, these routers require a password to log into. However, as
most people do not change the default password, and detailed information
on the factory set passwords is readily available online, criminals can
successfully log into the router. The Javascript component of the attack
can only work if the router’s password has not been changed.
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China
has detained six men in their 20s for writing or profiting from a computer
virus dubbed the "joss-stick burning panda" which has infected over a
million computers. The worm wreaked havoc among individual and corporate
users in China in a late 2006 outbreak, deleting files, damaging programs
and attacking web portals.It got its name from changing icons on desktops
into cute cartoon pandas, the most famous of which holds three burning
joss-sticks in his paws. Chinese media have said that the worm was able
to steal account names of online gamers and instant messengers, which
are hotly traded with real money in China's cyberspace. Police held Li
Jun, 25 a native of Wuhan city in central China, who wrote the virus in
October and had earned more than 100,000 Yuan ($12,890) by selling it
to about 120 people. China's booming Internet is filled with technology-savvy
youngsters, but problems such as addiction to online games, hacking and
virtual property theft are on the rise.
The
Swedish Armed Forces has made the decision to migrate its
servers from Windows NT to Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Following
the deal, the Swedish Armed Forces will start replacing Windows
NT with Red Hat Enterprise Linux across its core IT infrastructure.
The agreement sees FMLOG Servicedesk, the IT department of
the Swedish Armed Forces, now able to offer Red Hat Enterprise
Linux solutions to any division or branch of the military.
At present, Red Hat Enterprise Linux is the operating system
platform on nearly 200 servers running in-house developed
software within the core IT infrastructure of the Swedish
Armed Forces. The decision to migrate to Red Hat was primarily
based on its advanced security features, but additionally
the strong support, ease of migration and compatibility with
existing in-house software were important factors. FMLOG Servicedesk
plans to extend its internal usage of Linux in future.
Online
message boards and chat rooms are replacing rural coffee shops and feed
mills as places for farmers to talk farming and trade tips as more of
rural America goes online. Fifty-one percent of U.S. farms have Internet
access, according to a July 2005 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
up from 48 percent in 2003. The popularity of online farm forums has grown
as well. Some forums claim to have as many as 30,000 registered users.
Enthusiasts say the forums have improved farm production and saved farmers
precious dollars by helping them avoid costly mistakes in planting, fertilising,
equipment buys and maintenance. And forums have enabled farmers—many of
them miles from their nearest neighbour—to educate each other and build
community. Rural America has lagged behind the cities in Internet usage—especially
broadband—because wiring the population-rich cities is more profitable
and wiring the countryside more expensive due to long distances and natural
barriers.
