In a new twist in the online world we know as the internet, hackers have begun to target websites themselves in what seems to be the newest round for the battle over the control of the internet. There is no single owner of the internet as we all know it but there needs to be some form of regulating body or organization that must keep order to make sense of all the information out on the net. Turkish hackers have targeted two sites who just happened to be the ones responsible for keeping order on the net. Both the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) have been hijacked by hackers, redirecting users to other sites whilst downloading a nasty payload of malware in their wake. The deregulation of the internet naming conventions and other technical restrictions is set to go into full swing this coming 2009.
Incidentally, these two internet governing bodies have agreed to announce that they are going to announce a relaxation of rules and regulations that governs the naming and apportioning of resources of the internet making it more user friendly in terms of naming conventions. The country designators might remain but you might be surprised to get web sites named; BankofAmerica.bank instead of BankofAmerica.com.
The hackers have been contacted and they have admitted ownership of the acts but they have kept their hijacking methods out of sight, true to the hacker tradition. This incident raises the risks of the upcoming unleashing of the naming convention methods about the validity of the web sites and the true aim of their owners. The hackers goal was to again reiterate that there is no one owner of the internet and that they (hackers) can do whatever they wish with it and with the knowledge they possess that is a very likely scenario.
Source : CRN News
Tags: hacking, Hacking Stunt, IANA, ICANN, Redircted Web Sites
Categories: General, IT Security Basics, Network Security, News, Real-World Issues
CNN, one of the US’s biggest media giants has been threatened by pro-Chinese activists as a target for attacks due to their unjust coverage of issues that concern the motherland (China). CNN International the web site, indeed suffered some form of DoS attacks which lasted 20 minutes but was halted due to unknown reasons. CNN has been criticized as too critical of the way the Chinese has handled the events in Tibet and that people are mad with their so-called one sided reports. The events in Tibet were hidden from the rest of the world when the Chinese cut off all internet connections and banned Western reporters from entering the area. Anyone caught within the exclusion zone were hastily sent out of the country in efforts to control the information that gets out of the territory which is moving for independence from China’s communist ways. Reporters were however allowed in only with strict government supervision.
The group claims to represent a majority of the Chinese public who have expressed disgust at how Western Media have been harassing China over issues that spans the whole country, from Tibet to the prevalence of piracy in all forms and shapes, China has managed to top all lists that lists it as haven for the top Hacker’s of the world, tainted goods and many more.
The attack on CNN was called off due to the news getting out and any attack could then be stopped. The exploratory attack did manage to impede access to users of CNN interactive but for the rest of the Western world there was no significant slowdown noticed. These kinds of attacks as well as others that have been targeted at many governments China have called as enemies of the state are commonplace, mostly being detected and dealt with promptly. There were repeated attacks on the Department Of Finance’s web site where identified hackers from China (where they were traced), and the US’s department of Homeland security has repeatedly called for the government to do something about such attacks. Many other such attacks that are aimed towards US firms have been found and discovered which raises the question wether the battlefield has moved into cyberspace not on the ground.
Tags: CNN, DoS Attacks, hacking, Media Targets
Categories: General, IT Security Basics, Malware, News, Real-World Issues
Anyone would often be advised to regularly change his password in any access points such as e-mails, log on servers and websites. Reason for this is to increase the need for security as far as gaining access and safeguarding files and pertinent information that is usually stored.
With the large number of hackers that have been cropping up one by one, various means to steal passwords,also known as phishing, or hack accounts have been their main course of action. While some would disregard such acts, the real pain begins once important messages, attachments and relevant information are tampered. True that some would not need to change passwords regularly, but just to be on the safe side, it is best to maintain a regular schedule of updating password security and make it a combination of numbers and letters to establish a more secure and harder way of being cracked or accessed by anyone today.
[tags]password theft, passwords, hacking, cracks, codes, security[/tags]
Tags: codes, cracks, Cryptography, hacking, IT Security Basics, Network Security, password-theft, passwords, Programming, Real-World Issues, security, Security Policies
Categories: Cryptography, IT Security Basics, Network Security, Programming, Real-World Issues, Security Policies
