Re: CRIME SOBIG ADVISORY

From: Craig.Schiller@private
Date: Thu Aug 21 2003 - 16:19:04 PDT

  • Next message: Kuo, Jimmy: "RE: CRIME SOBIG ADVISORY"

    Seth said
    
    >"The From_ line can't be trusted. The From: line can't be trusted. Both
    >are forged these days.
    
    >What I advocate for instead is the MTA returning a diagnostic before
    >accepting the message for delivery -- that way, guilty people with olde
    >fashionede virusese will still get the helpful notice they are infected,
    >and innocent people [who incidently don't run outlook] don't get notified
    >that a From_ or From: was forged."
    
    
    
    I also  appreciate getting sent a message that someone in my domain is
    sending out viruses.  Perhaps the virus scanners of the world could include
    a flag in the data base that the engine uses that would indicate whether a
    virus spoofs the source.   Then the part of the software that sends notices
    to the senders would know that the sender was faked.  In this way the help
    desks of the world would not be bombarded by questions from users that
    never actually had the virus.  The world would be grateful and throw money
    at these vendors.
    
    Another interesting twist is happening with viruses like SOBIG.  A mail
    filter detected the presence of the executable in the mime attachment and
    sent the entire message to the spoofed sender!  Of course it was a text
    copy of the mime attachment, but if you are interested in collecting the
    virus source in a somewhat safer format, here it is for the taking.  The
    mail filter also says, in different words, if you intended to subvert the
    security of the system you should enclose the executable in a zip file.
    How nice and accommodating!
    
    
    
    Craig A Schiller, CISSP
    Global Information Security Officer
    RadiSys Corporation
    craig.schiller@private
    503.615.1646
    
    
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    |---------+---------------------------->
    |         |           Seth Arnold      |
    |         |           <sarnold@private|
    |         |           m>               |
    |         |           Sent by:         |
    |         |           owner-crime@private|
    |         |           x.edu            |
    |         |                            |
    |         |                            |
    |         |            08/20/2003 03:53|
    |         |           PM               |
    |         |                            |
    |---------+---------------------------->
      >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
      |                                                                                                                               |
      |       To:       "'crime@private '" <crime@private>                                                                      |
      |       cc:                                                                                                                     |
      |       Subject:  Re: CRIME SOBIG ADVISORY                                                                                      |
      >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
    
    
    
    
    On Wed, Aug 20, 2003 at 02:48:11PM -0700, Kuo, Jimmy wrote:
    > Are you referring to the situation where you get the Undeliverable
    message
    > because your name got forged in the From field, or about warnings issued
    by
    > AV companies on all the viruses, or both?
    
    Jimmy, if you are in position of sufficient influence, please, for the
    love of god please, get those silly "your message was <foo>" out of the
    virus scanners. :)
    
    The From_ line can't be trusted. The From: line can't be trusted. Both
    are forged these days.
    
    What I advocate for instead is the MTA returning a diagnostic before
    accepting the message for delivery -- that way, guilty people with olde
    fashionede virusese will still get the helpful notice they are infected,
    and innocent people [who incidently don't run outlook] don't get notified
    that a From_ or From: was forged.
    
    While I'm dreaming, I'd also like to see my gpg signatures let through. :)
    
    [Yes, bugtraq posts with gpg signatures kinda suck; 20+ "i'm on
    vacation" messages, 10+ "we've got a virus!!" messages...]
    
    </rant>
    
    --
    "Now there are some who would like to re-write history --- `revisionist
    histororians' is what I like to call them."
      -- Pres. Bush on forged intelligence in the state of the union address
    (See attached file: att7jjx8.dat)
    
    
    
    



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