NIPC Daily Report 7 May 2002 The NIPC Watch and Warning Unit compiles this report to inform recipients of issues impacting the integrity and capability of the nation's critical infrastructures. Deceptive Duo hacking continues. A group of hackers calling themselves the Deceptive Duo continues to penetrate government, banking, technology, and other business computer systems. They have breached the systems in two ways; first they use default passwords in Microsoft SQL servers which haven't been changed by system administrators. Securityfocus.com reports that there has been a recent increase in the number of incidents involving port 1433, the default port used by Microsoft SQL Server. Secondly, a NetBIOS brute force attack, a method in which hackers repeatedly try to guess passwords to gain entry into a system, could exploit the NetBIOS protocol and allow access to sensitive data. Statements by the group indicate that these types of attacks will continue. The group has claimed that "We plan on exercising Stage 1 for about 3-4 more months. This is a long-term situation for us." (Multiple Sources) Cyberspace full of terror targets. Government and private computer networks are facing new threats of terrorist attacks, ranging from an attempt to bring havoc to a major city to nationwide disruptions of finances, transportation and utilities. Individuals with knowledge of national intelligence briefings say little has been done to protect against a cyberattack. Threats come from individuals who might have connections to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in Pakistan and elsewhere. An 18 April meeting of government intelligence and information-technology officials discussed protecting the nation's computer networks. Officials are most concerned that a Cyber-attack could be coupled with a conventional terrorist attack. (USA Today, 6 May) Iraqi cabinet votes to end oil embargo. The Iraqi cabinet voted on 6 May to resume oil exports beginning midnight, 7 May, after failing to win support from Arab countries in effort to initiate an oil embargo against the US and other allies of Israel. The cabinet admitted its 8 April decision to suspend oil exports for 30 days "did not find the desired response from its Arab brothers to take similar measures". (Associated Press, 6 May) Plans urged for dealing with "dirty bombs". A report prepared by the Center for Strategic and International Studies for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, concludes that emergency service organizations must develop plans to protect initial responders from radiation, stagger rescue crews to prevent overexposure, and ensure that protective gear and equipment can be rushed in from regional sources. It also suggests that authorities consider ways to quickly exercise emergency powers to prevent panic and recommends disseminating information in advance to educate the media and the public about the risks. The center's study is based on the assumption that an attack with a "dirty bomb" is more likely than the detonation of a stolen nuclear device, the release of smallpox, or an attack on a nuclear power plant. (Washington Post, 4 May)
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