Forwarded From: Nicholas Charles Brawn <ncb05t_private> 23Apr98 UK: HACKERS SHOOT DOWN BIG GUNS. By DAVID BICKNELL US View. Security issues may not be very sexy, but a very real alternative is to fall prey to hackers. Don't kid yourself that it couldn't happen to you It is the doomsday scenario that no user - or supplier - dares to contemplate. Blue-chip giants such as General Motors, Exxon and Bank of America all find their corporate systems at risk because they have bought compromised products from a computer company that has fallen victim to an organised crime operation. Meanwhile, the computer supplier's operations have been undone by changes at the top, which give it a more marketing-oriented rather than technical focus. Also there is not enough scrutiny of user passwords, which remain either unchanged or left on sticky yellow notes on users' desks. The direct mailing operations of the supplier, Houston-based Simtec, are also compromised by the rogue organisation. It gets hold of Simtec's mailing list and sends out a dodgy patch on official documentation, which is promptly installed by thousands of users. Payment of a $1m 'ransom', which becomes $5m, then $10m, would solve Simtec's problems, but it declines to pay. Of course, the networks security manager is immediately under severe pressure to explain how the hackers gained access to the systems. And the manager charged with turning round the company's direct-mailing operations hit by Dell's success finds his sales and order delivery systems down. Then an outside specialist security troubleshooter is hired to get to the root of the problems. Eventually, it turns out the whole scam was organised by one of Simtec's disaffected executives. All sound far-fetched? Well, it is from a fictional book, Bad Memory, written by a security expert, Duane Franklet. But the network security concepts, and the understanding of the potential effect on users of the company's products, suggest that the novel is based on real-life problems. It is worth persuading any IT manager, director or board-level executive to read it to get them to understand what could befall your company. You can get a copy in a couple of days from the Amazon.com Web site, assuming you're not so security conscious you'd decline to give your credit card details. US cities are so short of industrial land that businesses are turning to purpose-built high-tech buildings to offer them mission-critical Internet and data access operations they can trust. These 'cyber buildings' for both business and residential use have begun springing up, building on the model offered by the Information Technology Centre in Manhattan. Originally an empty building, the centre was rewired with all mod cons, and is now fully leased. Copy-cat structures such as Grand Millennium Building on the Big Apple's Upper West Side, the Home Savings Tower, and 101 West Broadway in San Diego also get a complete package offering satellite access, single and multimode fibre optics, high-speed Internet connection and videoconferencing facilities. The idea, according to urban developers, is to create vertical high-rise campuses rather than a horizontal sprawl. And it has coined a new service. The janitor has been replaced by the 'cyber cierge', offering technical support. Even the term has been trademarked by one savvy Internet service provider. Only in America ... COMPUTER WEEKLY 23/04/98 P30 -o- Subscribe: mail majordomot_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Dimensional Communications (www.dim.com)
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