PLANNED COUNTER ATTACK AGAINST HACKERS OF TOP WEB SITES.Within a 72-hour period, the Internet portal site Noun 1. portal site - a site that the owner positions as an entrance to other sites on the internet; "a portal typically has search engines and free email and chat rooms etc. at Yahoo, Amazon.com, CNN.com, Buy.com and others were crippled by a flood of "denial of service A condition in which a system can no longer respond to normal requests. See denial of service attack. " strikes (involving flooding computers with fake requests for data so that legitimate users are precluded from access to the site). While denial of service attacks have existed for many years, technology advances allow coordinated automated attacks from many computers at once thereby increasing the risk for Web sites. Each of the Web sites has advised that no personal or corporate data were compromised by the attacks. Over the past several days the companies have met in Washington, D.C. with federal officials and have involved the FBI in an investigation of unprecedented intensity and scope to determine the location of the vandals involved in the attacks. The FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC (U.S. National Infrastructure Protection Center) Originally organized in response to Presidential Decision Directive 63 (PDD-63), functions of the NIPC were moved to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection (IAIP) Directorate. ) is coordinating the investigation. The attack was anticipated and even predicted in Nov. 1999 by the Computer Emergency Reponse Team (CERT), a government funded organization affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University, at Pittsburgh, Pa.; est. 1967 through the merger of the Carnegie Institute of Technology (founded 1900, opened 1905) and the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research (founded 1913). . CERT was created by the Dept. of Defense (DOD (1) (Dial On Demand) A feature that allows a device to automatically dial a telephone number. For example, an ISDN router with dial on demand will automatically dial up the ISP when it senses IP traffic destined for the Internet. ) and designed as a clearinghouse for Internet information. Lax security among Internet companies invited the type of attack encountered and will be the subject of a Cabinet meeting this week at the White House. Some security consultants suggest that the identity of the multiple hackers believed to be involved will inevitably become known to investigators because of the number of individuals probably involved and through the usual failing of disclosing one's identity to take credit. Informers abound among hackers. When this happens, the e-businesses will aggressively pursue individual investigations and prosecutions in an effort to dramatize dram·a·tize v. dram·a·tized, dram·a·tiz·ing, dram·a·tiz·es v.tr. 1. To adapt (a literary work) for dramatic presentation, as in a theater or on television or radio. 2. and publicize the criminal nature of the activity and the serious jail time which will follow conviction, along with tougher laws. |
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