Slashdot Mirror
Operation 'Cyber Storm' Starts Tomorrow
cyberbian writes "Federal Computing Week reports that the Department of Homeland Security have moved up their rescheduled cyber security exercise, designed to test enterprise and private sector alike. The tests are expected to run from February 6-10, and are intended to gauge the state of readiness for a cyber attack on critical infrastructure. FCW also reports that the scope of the fake attacks will be global, and they are coordinating with partners in Australia, Canada and the UK."
How much damage they'll end up doing?
I'm glad that they are doing something like this, in the UK people have been estimating that "in the city" only around 50% of companies are anything like prepaired for an attack of this nature, hopefully this will show people what needs to be done...
I hope no real attacks take place during this time though...
*''I can't believe it's not a hyperlink.''
And then they discover they accidently broke the internet.
Then go home for a couple days!
WooHoo!
So all you need to do is find one unlucky zombie on a government IP, and use it to break in to random computers, and people will assume you're a good guy?
Well, I think I speak for all of us when I say on behalf of the internet community: Thank Ford for the Department of Homeland Security.
Exactly what can be expected in regard to online use just after the Superbowl? Will there be more or fewer people online during that time? I expect there'll be more. People will want to celebrate and complain about whomever won or lost. If we were under a cyberattack, then certainly that would be the best time to do these tests.
"IT-ISAC has eight members participating in the exercise, the center's Web site states. The participants are Cisco Systems, Citadel Security Software, CA (formerly Computer Associates), Computer Sciences Corp., Intel, Microsoft, Symantec and VeriSign."
In other words, little, if any.
The bits on the bus go on and off... on and off... on and off...
Last time i saw something like this, our 'organizataion' was tested.
They caused more damage to us with childhood tactics ( like locking out system accounts ) than doing 'real' tests. We were screwed for a week trying to undo damage, and trying to figure out how it was happening again and again.
Posting anonymously for obvious reasons.
I'm a lot more worried about the damage caused by the "Tiered Internet" proposals currently being bandied about. All network admins know that the damage caused by attackers is insignificant compared to the damage caused by upper management and government meddling.
This is like Microsoft checking its own code for security holes. If there is a weakness then resources could be better used by trying to eliminate the weakness instead of finding theoretical ways it could be exploited - because there's always the way you didn't think of and THAT's the one that's going to get you.
Homeland security is going to turn around and tell everyone that we're NOT ready for a "terrorist cyber attack"? No, it makes much more political sense to say "see? Our networks can survive millions of nerf-ball hits; more funding please."
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Not communism, but capitalist oligarchism. "Enterprise sector" is the Fortune 500 that can buy politicians to manipulate the market to their ends. "Private sector" is everyone else, competing on an increasingly tilted playing field. Hope this clears things up.
The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
I can see it now...
FROM: cyberstorm@dohs.gov
TO: unlucky.recipient@yourcompany.com
SUBJECT: Participation in Cyber Storm exercise
Your company has been identified by the Department of Homeland Security as potentially vulnerable to cyber attack. During the week of February 6th - February 10th, the DoHS will be testing cyber infrastructure as part of our Cyber Storm security exercise. In order to participate, you will need to supply us with [insert favorite hacking data here]...
GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
I thought for a minute there they were talking about IRC back in the late 90's. Now THERE was a storm of cybering for you. Not that I would..ummm...have any personal knowledge or anything.
I doubt the Department of Homeland Security has anything like a globally distributed botnet, or permission to run DDoS like a real attacker might. The virus attack on the Russian stock market is not something goverments can replicate.
The only winners will be the companies who sell the extra bandwidth!
Zen tips: Pay attention. Don't take it personally. Believe nothing.
So, they're just going to submit a bunch of web sites to Digg and Slashdot. Big Deal! :-)
If Nalgene water bottles are outlawed, only outlaws will have Nalgene water bottles.
Suppose their attacks allow them to get into various machines and networks, what will they do with the data that is accesible in those machines?
Is this just another end run around warrantless search and seizures of data?
What kind of oversite is there on this process and how can we be sure the information is not used, stored, or otherwise desiminated among the various US spook agencies and their foreign lackeys.
And how much do you want to bet Google will be a very well excercised target since they have been fighting the governments abuse of power already.
My next Slashdot post will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!
http://www.april-fools.us/internet-cleaning.htm
Original Message - 1996
DO NOT CONNECT TO THE INTERNET FROM 12:01 AM GMT ON FEB. 29 TO 12:01 AM GMT, MARCH 1 !!
*** *** Attention ***
It's that time again!
As many of you know, each leap year the Internet must be shut down for 24 hours in order to allow us to clean it. The cleaning process, which
eliminates dead email and inactive ftp, www and gopher sites, allows for a better-working and faster Internet.
This year, the cleaning process will take place from 12:01 a.m. GMT on
Feb. 29 until 12:01 a.m. GMT on March 1. During that 24-hour period, five powerful Internet-crawling robots situated around the world will search the Internet and delete any data that they find.
In order to protect your valuable data from deletion we ask that you do the following:
1. Disconnect all terminals and local area networks from their Internet
connections.
2. Shut down all Internet servers, or disconnect them from the Internet.
3. Disconnect all disks and hardrives from any connections to the Internet.
4. Refrain from connecting any computer to the Internet in any way.
We understand the inconvenience that this may cause some Internet
users, and we apologize. However, we are certain that any
inconveniences will be more than made up for by the increased speed and efficiency of the Internet, once it has been cleared of electronic flotsam and jetsam. We thank you for your cooperation.
Kim Dereksen
Interconnected Network Maintenance staff
Main branch, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sysops and others: Since the last Internet cleaning, the number of
Internet users has grown dramatically. Please assist us in alerting
the public of the upcoming Internet cleaning by posting this message
where your users will be able to read it. Please pass this message on to
other sysops and Internet users as well. Thank you.
The type of test I participated in wasn't invalidated by this lack of surprise because it was deliberately designed to expose procedural flaws and systematic gaps that fell between different areas of responsibility. The lack of surprise was a nuscience in the design of the test, but it was planned for and accounted from the very beginning. Having an announced testing window was a necessary security feature and not a flaw in the test.
These tests either were performed within the announced window of time or they were cancelled outright. Delay was out of the question. Delay was insecure. Cancelled tests were a nuscience for the test teams because it meant almost a month delay before they'd be allowed to perform the test, but the insecurity introduced by saying "Oh wait, the tests are back on schedule" or "Oh we'll just delay the test window a few days" was unnaceptable to security.
I've heard a time (though I didn't participate) in a test where a piece of equipment failed the day before the two day test window. Without this piece of equipment data measurements would be fuzzed by an order of magnitude on one part of the test. A replacement was ordered but on the day the tests were to begin it still required a day of prep time. To you and me our first inclination might be to simply delay the test a day. That was not acceptable to the security team. The test went on with the bad piece of equipment and the test results were compromised but in only that part of the test. Another test window was scheduled six weeks in the future and the test team's budget was increased to have redundant pieces of certain test equipment on hand and ready as part of the design of new testing procedures.
What seems almost absurd was the idea of moving forward the timeframe of an announced security test. There were times when test teams were very ready ahead of time, but they used the time to double and triple check their preparation, take documentation for next test, meet and discuss the game plan, and use the extra time productively while waiting for the arrival of the upcoming announced testing window. Why not just go ahead with the tests? Because once again, moving the announced test window was a security risk. And performing the test outside a test window was considered a break-in by security, and unnecessary for properly designed tests by the test teams.
I know banking security differs from computer security, but it still seems rather insecure and dangerous to move an announced test window period at all. What's worse is that it seems unnecessary, unusual, and odd to move the test period forward. If the test requires surprise, then it's either a poorly designed test or it was compromised by having an announced test window to begin with. If we're dealing with computer security on an international scope, then it would seem incredibly helpful to take the extra test time and double check the game plan. Tests inside a single banking company with far fewer issues of timing, language, and politics welcomed an extra week to plan and prepare before most tests of even moderate complexity. It seems arrogant, ignorant, or careless to say "Oh, we don't need this extra time before the tests. We'll deliberately tamper with our security and throw away this extra time we could use to prepare and coordinate this very complex international test."
So what's really going on here?