Slashdot Mirror


How Microsoft Fights Off 100,000 Attacks A Month

El Lobo writes to mention a ComputerWorld article about Microsoft's battles with the Hackers of the world. The software giant fights off more than 100,000 attacks every month, protecting their data-heavy internal network from the paws of your average script kiddie. The article discusses Microsoft's 'defense in depth' strategy, and discusses just some of the layers in that barrier. From the article: "The first layer of protection for the Microsoft VPN is two-factor authentication. After an infamous incident in the fall of 2000, Microsoft installed a certificate-based Public Key Infrastructure and rolled out smart cards to all employees and contractors with remote access to the network and individuals with elevated access accounts such as domain administrators. Two-factor authentication requires that you have something physical, in this case the smart card, and also know something, in this case a password."

6 of 169 comments (clear)

  1. 100,000 a month...? by bhunachchicken · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, who's doing the other 99,999 then...? :)

  2. Thanks! by moore.dustin · · Score: 5, Funny

    Thanks for passing all those protection and security measures you develop to your customers! Wait a tic...

  3. How to fend of 100,000 attacks a month by LatexBendyMan · · Score: 5, Funny

    They probably just run linux...

  4. That's funny... by stag_beetle · · Score: 5, Funny

    I thought the first thing you were supposed to do to protect against attacks was to ensure you aren't using Microsoft products in any part of your infrastructure...

  5. Statistics...gotta 'luv em by djupedal · · Score: 5, Funny

    The software giant fights off more than 100,000 attacks every month, protecting their data-heavy internal network from the paws of your average script kiddie.

    If MS is using the routine fuzzy-math they tend to throw out when attempting to make the company seem more powerful and dominating than is backed up by reality, the '100,000 attacks' could be 99,999 pieces of spam email and one ping-flood.

    See, this is how MS routinely tries to brainwash Joe and Jane consumer. Toss out a statistic that is impossible to verify, along with just enough verbal imagery to impress non-tech savvy spenders and you're on your way to profitsville!

    'data-heavy internal network...' That is some pretty shiny bull-shit, by the way...data-heavy! As opposed to what? I can see those steel grey towering industrial strength routers, embedded into solid concrete bunkers, laced with 50 cm MIL spec reinforcing bar that is tied deep in bedrock, far below the cavernous data centers the brave MS engineers toil without end to feed, with miles and miles of 1 meter thick ethernet cables, snaking like giant blood veins, throbbing quietly as the beast that is MS R&D works around the clock for the good of mankind.

    Makes me proud to be an American, I 'tell ya!

  6. Re:They use bees by kkwst2 · · Score: 5, Funny

    African or European?