Forwarded from: Rob Rosenberger <junkmailat_private> Vmyths.com Virus Hysteria Alert {17 January 2003, 01:35 CT} The NYTimes.com home page now displays two major headlines about Iraq: (1) "Inspectors Find Empty Warheads in an Iraqi Depot," and (2) "Iraqi Computer Attacks Feared." The latter story cites a classified document from the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center (FBI NIPC). The threat of pro-Iraqi hackers "could signal a 'potential crisis' in national security," reporter Eric Lichtblau states in his opening paragraph. "Experts say the link between Iraq and computer hacking may have been underestimated and poses a growing threat to United States security," the story goes on to say. Lichtblau quotes congressman Robert E. Andrews (D-NJ), who declared "a cyberattack really fits Saddam Hussein's paradigm for attacking us." Andrews sits on the House Armed Services Committee -- but that doesn't make him a computer security expert. The congressman merely suffers from False Authority Syndrome (see http://Vmyths.com/fas/fas1.cfm for details). Vmyths dismisses a "possible" Iraqi cyber-attack as pure hysteria. U.S. air-to-ground missiles will take out their entire telecommunications infrastructure in the first hour of conflict. We also dismiss the idea of a cyber-war waged by a band of childish Iraqi sympathizers. FBI NIPC has a notorious habit of "reading tea leaves and seeing ghosts." Any classified document they produce should be viewed with utmost skepticism. FBI NIPC has been the subject of multiple Hysteria Alerts. See http://Vmyths.com/resource.cfm?id=26&page=1 for more details. The agency exists as a political & bureaucratic tool; it has always suffered from "too many chiefs and not enough indians." Other agencies have used FBI NIPC as a holding pen for their "problem children" (e.g. CIA analyst Terrill Maynard). The antivirus industry privately views them as a farce. FBI NIPC relies on contractors to provide some expertise, plus they rely on security vendors who provide expertise at no charge. The agency has a sordid history of plagiarizing the investigative work of others. NIPC suffered a major setback recently when FBI took away some important functions from them in order to make those functions useful. Reporter Eric Lichtblau has obtained classified documents in the past (see http://Vmyths.com/rant.cfm?id=482&page=4 for example) filled with computer security hysteria. Vmyths speculates his source(s) exploit him to further their political agendas. We must note the fact his NYTimes.com story highlights quotes from Michael Vatis -- the first director of FBI NIPC who was fired (repeat: "fired") for turning the agency into his personal PR machine. Vmyths predicts the following: (A) Internet media outlets will regurgitate the NYTimes.com article in their own stories. We believe Eric Lichtblau will refuse to share the classified document he obtained, and this will force other reporters to turn to "experts" who will speculate wildly. Hungry security vendors (e.g. mi2g) will ride on the coattails of media-borne hysteria. So, too, will childish hackers who suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder. (B) If the U.S. goes to war, Internet users will overwhelm mainstream media websites in an effort to see video clips of smart bombs raining down on Iraqi bridges & facilities. This flood of Internet users will be identical to a distributed-denial-of-service attack. (C) If the U.S. goes to war, disorganized U.S. hackers will outnumber the Iraqi cyber-sympathizers by at least 10-to-1 -- just as they did when disorganized Chinese hackers supposedly declared a cyber-war on America (see http://Vmyths.com/hoax.cfm?id=252&page=3 for details). Internet media outlets will provide little coverage of the "other" side of the Iraqi cyber-war, for three major reasons: (1) security fearmongers overwhelmingly live in first-world nations, (2) disorganized sympathizers don't hire PR teams, and (3) Internet media outlets don't send reporters to Iraq for on-the-scene coverage. The mainstream media focuses on the physical aspects of war -- leaving the cyber-war to Internet media outlets, who will report even the most absurd stories under the pretense of "war coverage." Stay calm. Stay reasoned. And stay tuned to Vmyths. Rob Rosenberger, editor http://Vmyths.com Acknowledgement: Richard M. Smith (ComputerBytesMan.com) for pointing Vmyths to the NYTimes.com website. --------------- Useful links ------------------ Remember this when virus hysteria strikes http://Vmyths.com/resource.cfm?id=31&page=1 Other "cyber-wars" raging around the world as we speak http://Vmyths.com/resource.cfm?id=23&page=1 Common cliches in the antivirus world http://Vmyths.com/resource.cfm?id=22&page=1 False Authority Syndrome http://Vmyths.com/fas/fas1.cfm - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon Jan 20 2003 - 03:37:39 PST