RE: Publishing Nimda Logs

From: Andy Wood (network.designat_private)
Date: Wed May 08 2002 - 10:55:47 PDT

  • Next message: Pavel Lozhkin: "Re: Publishing Nimda Logs"

    	I think one should be careful.  Who is contacted is a key
    question.  One scenario could be that a tech was contacted and he/she is
    too clueless or uses some other negligent excuse as to why it is not
    fixed.  Maybe they don't know how, or are too worried about their
    reputation that is built on sand.
    
    	This is not a foreign response to us either.  We have contacted
    companies that fix what we present to them and they never call back.
    This is foolishness, we never feed the ones that do call everything that
    we found.  So they fix the simple one or two we give 'em and have no
    idea about the rest.  We have even found network security companies, and
    not just locals, but HUGE companies......and we're ignored.
    
    	Hey, I just noticed your domain....funny story.  I contacted CSC
    a couple of weeks ago about a few servers that you guys have that are
    seriously vulnerable to attack.....Oh you guys were quick...contacted me
    the same day.  Fished the info outta me and blew off my resume, or so it
    seems.....but best is this:  They're still vulnerable 
    
    	Well, I'm glad your company's stance is such of FULL disclosure.
    You think I should disclose the IP addresses of your company's
    vulnerable servers??  I mean, if people come looking to attack CSC it
    could can draw attention to a lot of consecutive IP blocks of companies
    in our area.  That wouldn't be fair to the others would it??
    
    
    
    -----Original Message-----
    From: brossiniat_private [mailto:brossiniat_private] 
    Sent: Tuesday, May 07, 2002 11:16 PM
    To: vuln-devat_private
    Subject: RE: Publishing Nimda Logs
    
    
    I agree, these machines NEED to be cleaned and secured, OR removed from
    the network.
    
    It would, however,  be pretty niave of us to think that attackers
    couldn't find lists of infected machines by other means. After all, we
    promote full disclosure of software vulnerabilities, so why not full
    disclosure of machines infected by worms and trojans that should have
    been cleaned up long ago ? If (and only if) the users and ISP of the
    problematic machines have been notified, then I don't see why lists of
    this kind shouldn't be published, so that network admins can block the
    offending traffic.
    
    my (considerably less than) $0.02......
    
    - Ben
    
    
    
    |---------+---------------------------------->
    |         |           "Silcock, Stephen"     |
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    |         |           way.com.au>            |
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    |         |           08/05/2002 10:35 AM    |
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      |        To:      vuln-devat_private
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      |        Subject: RE: Publishing Nimda Logs
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    I think many people are underestimating the potential for damage these
    machines hold...
    
    Eli. K. Breen. put his (small, personal) list of infected hosts on a web
    page and posted the address to the list.
    
    I now have as a result a list of about 2000 infected, and therefore
    trivially exploitable hosts.  While some may be dynamic IP's and some
    may not be as trivially exploitable as it seems; 2000 is a good ballpark
    figure.
    
    I could; if I had the time and the inclination knock up a DDoS network
    within the space of a day or two using that information - 2000 hosts is
    no small number.
    
    Add to that any other Nimda lists I can lay my hands on, not to mention
    the even-more-trivially exploitable CodeRed backdoored machines and you
    have a ready made DDoS network just waiting for someone to use it.
    
    The machines need to be cleaned and set up securely.  If the people
    running them can't do it they have no business having an internet
    connection; they're a liabiltiy to the rest of the internet community...
    
    Unfortunately there are only two ways I can see this happening; ISP's
    being made accountable for allowing these hosts to remain connected, or
    compromising the machines and patching/shutting them down in an
    automated fashion, which is illegal pretty much everywhere I would
    assume and probably not very effective as the machines would probably
    just be rebuilt or restored insecurely as before.
    
    So (resisting the urge to rant about Microsoft's buggy mass marketed
    bloatware) it comes down to ISP's having to disconnect their own
    customers...
    
    My $0.02
    
    S.   :)
    
    
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