|
|
|
|
HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 11/30/2006 : 16:30:47
|
This just now splashed across the top of CNN.com's Web site: "Homeland Security warns al Qaeda plans to attack and destroy databases of U.S. stock market and banking Web sites, Reuters reports."
I wonder if there's anything to this? Is Al Qaeda again stealing ideas from Tom Clancy novels, as it did with 9/11? Or has our intelligence been hoaxed? Interesting, either way.
|
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
|
|
HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 11/30/2006 : 17:34:48 [Permalink]
|
Shee-it! al Qaeda doesn't have to do anything more. Just the thought of them has Homeland Security soiling their skivvies: quote:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The U.S. government has warned U.S. private financial services of an al Qaeda call for a cyber attack against U.S. online stock trading and banking Web sites beginning Friday, officials said Thursday.
The officials - a person familiar with the warning and a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security - said the Islamic militant group aimed to penetrate and destroy the databases of the U.S. stock market and banking Web sites.
Homeland Security said it had no evidence to corroborate the threat but had issued the warning out of an "abundance of caution." The department said in a statement that the threat was for all of December.
Bolding & emphisis mine.
I really don't see any threat. Do they really think that a few terrorist hackers can beat the cyber secreity of our financial institutions?
Anything to keep up the skeer, that's our news media. If they were even half honest, this "story" would have only seen print in the horoscope section, to be consumed mainly by people who will believe anything.
Morons....
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
|
 |
|
|
Randy
SFN Regular
USA
1990 Posts |
Posted - 11/30/2006 : 18:13:01 [Permalink]
|
| All it takes is the mention. Then again, setting off a half dozen remote controlled leaky gasoline tanker trucks parked here and there downtown in different financial districts would sure ratchet things up a tad. |
"We are all connected; to each other biologically, to the earth chemically, to the rest of the universe atomically."
"So you're made of detritus [from exploded stars]. Get over it. Or better yet, celebrate it. After all, what nobler thought can one cherish than that the universe lives within us all?"
-Neil DeGrasse Tyson |
|
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 11/30/2006 : 18:26:53 [Permalink]
|
quote:
Originally posted by Randy
All it takes is the mention. Then again, setting off a half dozen remote controlled leaky gasoline tanker trucks parked here and there downtown in different financial districts would sure ratchet things up a tad.
Nah. That's expensive and complicated. Easier and more economical just to send out a mailing of letters containing a little corn starch. That'll shut 'em down for a few days -- until the next mailing.
I wonder where that anthrax bastard is. I hope he got killed by his left-over anthrax.
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
|
|
|
|
moakley
SFN Regular
USA
1888 Posts |
Posted - 11/30/2006 : 19:40:46 [Permalink]
|
quote:
Originally posted by HalfMooner
I wonder if there's anything to this? Is Al Qaeda again stealing ideas from Tom Clancy novels, as it did with 9/11? Or has our intelligence been hoaxed? Interesting, either way.
Can't remember the name, but that was the last Tom Clancy book that I read. Too predictable. Of course my favorite was "Without Remorse". We found out what a bad MF John Clark (John T. Kelly) was. Kept me turning pages into the wee hours of the night.
quote:
"Homeland Security warns al Qaeda plans to attack and destroy databases of U.S. stock market and banking Web sites, Reuters reports."
If I recall Clancy right, this was more or less an inside job. From the outside, have at it boys. |
Life is good
Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned. -Anonymous |
|
|
|
Original_Intent
SFN Regular
USA
609 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2006 : 03:44:33 [Permalink]
|
An organized attack could do a bit of damage. Individuals have hacked many bankng institutions already. I wonder what system the trading houses use. Hopefully not Microsoft.
If it's on-line, it's not really secure.
Peace
Joe |
|
|
|
Original_Intent
SFN Regular
USA
609 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2006 : 04:09:25 [Permalink]
|
Looks like, according to Reuters "denial of service" attacks. Much easier to carry out. Very bothersome when you need to get something done....
Peace
Joe
edited to fix link |
| Edited by - Original_Intent on 12/02/2006 09:03:49 |
|
|
|
HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2006 : 20:48:57 [Permalink]
|
Thanks, OI. DoS attacks, eh? We probably have dozens of American hackers trying to do that every day, for no more reward than bragging rights. And I'll bet our hackers are better at it than al Qaeda's.
|
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
|
|
|
Original_Intent
SFN Regular
USA
609 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2006 : 09:06:32 [Permalink]
|
Well:
I bid on ebay.
Bought from Amazon.
Ordered some tool supplies.
Updated my Netflix.
Changed my webpages.
Sent and recieved dozens of emails.
Played Halo.
Posted here.
And did a lot of other web-related things yesterday without a hiccup.
Peace
Joe |
|
|
|
Siberia
SFN Addict
Brazil
2322 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2006 : 09:44:11 [Permalink]
|
quote:
Originally posted by moakley
quote:
Originally posted by HalfMooner
I wonder if there's anything to this? Is Al Qaeda again stealing ideas from Tom Clancy novels, as it did with 9/11? Or has our intelligence been hoaxed? Interesting, either way.
Can't remember the name, but that was the last Tom Clancy book that I read. Too predictable. Of course my favorite was "Without Remorse". We found out what a bad MF John Clark (John T. Kelly) was. Kept me turning pages into the wee hours of the night.
quote:
"Homeland Security warns al Qaeda plans to attack and destroy databases of U.S. stock market and banking Web sites, Reuters reports."
If I recall Clancy right, this was more or less an inside job. From the outside, have at it boys.
They're probably just stealing the plot of Dark Angel. |
"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa
"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
|
|
|
|
Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2006 : 16:51:55 [Permalink]
|
quote:
Originally posted by filthy
I really don't see any threat. Do they really think that a few terrorist hackers can beat the cyber secreity of our financial institutions?
The following are stories I've heard from professors, and I have made no attempt to check their accuracy.
A few years ago, a student wrote a virus so that anyone who hooked up to the network on my campus (Virginia Tech) was immediately infected. The only thing the virus did was ping Microsoft's Auto-update site. The result was that Microsoft's auto-update server was off line for over a day.
We also have an auto-grading server called the Curator. We submit code, the curator compiles and runs our code producing a grade report. One student wrote an infinite loop that constantly pinged "localhost". He submitted it several ours before it was due, the result being that the server would not respond to anyone else, forcing the grading to be delayed by a day or two.
Now the second one is a small server which executes submitted code, so it doesn't really apply to the "real world". But the first was an undergraduate student, took him probably not more than a day, and he was able to take down one of the most popular servers in the country.
Now imagine someone is able to take down a popular bank's server or the stock market. Even if it was down for less than a hour, it would cause havoc.
Granted, those servers probably a lot more secure, even than Microsoft's servers. But there is no such thing as fool proof, not even close. |
Why continue? Because we must. Because we have the call. Because it is nobler to fight for rationality without winning than to give up in the face of continued defeats. Because whatever true progress humanity makes is through the rationality of the occasional individual and because any one individual we may win for the cause may do more for humanity than a hundred thousand who hug their superstitions to their breast.
- Isaac Asimov |
| Edited by - Ricky on 12/02/2006 16:52:48 |
|
|
|
Original_Intent
SFN Regular
USA
609 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2006 : 19:47:49 [Permalink]
|
I agree 100%, which is one of the reasons I am so adamatly oppossed to any form of electronic voting.
The biggest problem facing electronic commerce (on the bank end) is the lack of proaction by the people running the servers, especially where MS servers are concerned. The seond biggest are the individuals who own computers but don't know a thing about security, or viruses.
DOS attacks have taken down some big sites. A couple have taken down huge sites simutaneosly and clogged the internet for everyone else.
It dose appear they are getting a bit better at securing things.
I have long thought that any computer that serves out a virus or a worm, or takes part in a denial of service attack when the "cure" has been availale should have it's MAC address banned by the ISP, and that the ISP should share these MAC addresses. Want to hook yourself up again, either pay a $50 fine, or buy and install a new NIC card.
I realize that MAC addresses can be spoofed, but you can't really spoof it to the ISP as far as I know.
Peace
Joe |
|
|
|
Siberia
SFN Addict
Brazil
2322 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2006 : 05:42:19 [Permalink]
|
quote:
Originally posted by Ricky
quote:
Originally posted by filthy
I really don't see any threat. Do they really think that a few terrorist hackers can beat the cyber secreity of our financial institutions?
The following are stories I've heard from professors, and I have made no attempt to check their accuracy.
A few years ago, a student wrote a virus so that anyone who hooked up to the network on my campus (Virginia Tech) was immediately infected. The only thing the virus did was ping Microsoft's Auto-update site. The result was that Microsoft's auto-update server was off line for over a day.
We also have an auto-grading server called the Curator. We submit code, the curator compiles and runs our code producing a grade report. One student wrote an infinite loop that constantly pinged "localhost". He submitted it several ours before it was due, the result being that the server would not respond to anyone else, forcing the grading to be delayed by a day or two.
Now the second one is a small server which executes submitted code, so it doesn't really apply to the "real world". But the first was an undergraduate student, took him probably not more than a day, and he was able to take down one of the most popular servers in the country.
Now imagine someone is able to take down a popular bank's server or the stock market. Even if it was down for less than a hour, it would cause havoc.
Granted, those servers probably a lot more secure, even than Microsoft's servers. But there is no such thing as fool proof, not even close.
Ping attacks are predicted these days (because they're oh-so-easy to do) and most servers (even Microsoft ones!) are prepared for it. I've done that myself. It's easy.
Now, consider if someone managed to obtain access to the higher-level, critical data... now, that is my type of attack. |
"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa
"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Topic Locked
