http://cgi.usatoday.com/usatonline/20010524/3346958s.htm By Michelle Kessler USA TODAY The network is down, computer screens are blank and important client data are lost in cyberspace. But relax -- this is only a test. Computer disaster drills are growing in popularity as hacker and virus attacks mount, the threat of power outages in California continue and companies store more data on computer networks that are accessed by more people, increasing their vulnerability. A study released this week by the University of California at San Diego said one common type of hacker attack, called denial of service, occurs worldwide about 4,000 times a week. Recently, the White House's Web site was targeted. Also, Tuesday and Wednesday, the Web site of the Computer Emergency Response Team, the federally funded site that tracks hacker attacks, was taken down by hackers. The No. 1 cause of downtime for businesses is hardware and equipment failure, says Comdisco, a firm that helps companies prepare for all kinds of business disruptions stemming from such events as hurricanes, the No. 2 reason, power outages and fires. It is ''finally dawning on people'' that computer disaster drills are important, says Steve Hunt, analyst at research firm Giga Information Group. ''You don't want the firemen to show up at the fire without ever having seen one before,'' he says. * IBM's consulting division conducted 10% more disaster drills in the first quarter of this year over last year, the company says. Comdisco's drills are up 10% to 15% in the last 12 months from a year earlier, division President John Jackson says. Clients are asking for longer tests, IBM manager Todd Gordon says. * Software company SolutionInc recently held its first disaster drill. Randy Currie, the company's technology director, tested his staff by replacing a data-filled computer drive with a blank one. Five workers recreated all the ''lost'' data in about 8 hours. * Pharmaceutical company Abbott Laboratories has run twice-yearly drills on its mainframe computers for more than 20 years. But it decided after undergoing Y2K preparedness tests that employees could benefit from additional training. Now, 20 to 25 workers are tested on computers of all sizes every month. * Texas Instruments has run mainframe drills since 1991. The company began expanding its training program 2 years ago. Now, it tests a variety of systems two or three times a year. The drills help TI identify ''data that is missing . . . holes in the procedures . . . and changes in the environment that we may not have accounted for,'' says Greg Petersen, manager of disaster recovery planning. * Sophos Anti-Virus, a computer security software firm, holds monthly classes in Europe that let technology workers test their skills on computers infected with viruses. The courses are so popular that Sophos hopes to start them in the USA. The drills are important, advocates say, because they help workers diagnose problems, keep data recovery skills current and identify security flaws. ISN is hosted by SecurityFocus.com --- To unsubscribe email isn-unsubscribeat_private
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