ajo:
1. Modems Are Still A Viable Point Of Attack
Hackers put "war dialling" back in vogue. The old but apparently not
outdated technique known as war dialing is once again being
used by hackers to gain unauthorized access to corporate networks. War
dialing is the process of scanning telephone lines for unprotected
modems.
Twenty years ago hackers regularly penetrated systems through modem
connections, then as higher bandwidth connections became the norm the
practice died off. Today war dialing is back as hackers react to
increased network security and the fact that many organisations have
simply neglected to confront the risk posed by the use of modems.
A recent survey conducted by NTA Monitor found that for every 10,000
corporate telephone numbers 75 of them contain modems - explaining why
hackers, even as we near the conclusion of 2003, are targeting modems
for access.
The study also found that while over a third of respondent organisations
had found unauthorized modems in their systems, sixty-eight percent had
no way of detecting hacker probes seeking them out.
Roy Hills, NTA Monitor's technical director warned, "This should cause
major concern, as it only takes one unsecured modem to permit a hacker
to gain access to an organisation's systems."
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Bye Bastet
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