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Web Browsers Under Siege From Organized Crime
An anonymous reader writes "IBM has released the findings of the 2007 X-Force Security report, a group cataloging online-based threat since 1997. Their newest information details a disturbing rise in the sophistication of attacks by online criminals. According to IBM, hackers are now stealing the identities and controlling the computers of consumers at 'a rate never before seen on the Internet'. 'The study finds that a complex and sophisticated criminal economy has developed to capitalize on Web vulnerabilities. Underground brokers are delivering tools to aid in obfuscation, or camouflaging attacks on browsers, so cybercriminals can avoid detection by security software. In 2006, only a small percentage of attackers employed camouflaging techniques, but this number soared to 80 percent during the first half of 2007.'"
Okay, I admint I have not (yet) read the article, but experience tells me that 80% likely involves IE at 90 percent or better.
Ignorance is curable, stupid is forever.
It seems to me that the moment that organized crime found a way to make money off security vulnerabilities (Spam, ID theft, Ransomware, etc...) the writing was pretty much on the wall (though I'm still trying to figure out what it says). It kind of reminds me of William Gibson's cyberspace: a free-for-all, hostile environment where it was pretty much up to individual users / corporations / governments / whatever to protect themselves through whatever means necessary.
Welcome to the wild, wild net.
The Digital Sorceress
Combined with the comment that camouflaging techniques are used in 80% - 100% of recorded attacks, I wonder if the number of attacks is really going up ( as it has been in the past 10 years ) but detection is getting worse.
A Human Right
Over the past 4 weeks I've noticed a rash of almost hourly attempted breakins to our servers.
::ffff:82.186.102.42 [::ffff:82.186.102.42] to ::ffff:192.168.10.26:21
Here's a sample:
ftp attempts for 5 hours straight:
Feb 12 10:27:02 localhost proftpd[24841]: localhost.localdomain (::ffff:82.186.102.42[::ffff:82.186.102.42]) - no such user 'Administrator'
Feb 12 10:27:02 localhost proftpd[24841]: localhost.localdomain (::ffff:82.186.102.42[::ffff:82.186.102.42]) - USER Administrator: no such user found from
Feb 12 10:27:02 localhost proftpd[24841]: localhost.localdomain (::ffff:82.186.102.42[::ffff:82.186.102.42]) - Maximum login attempts (3) exceeded
ssh attempts almost constant since last friday:
Feb 11 01:37:07 localhost sshd[13953]: pam_unix(sshd:auth): check pass; user unknown
Feb 11 01:37:07 localhost sshd[13953]: pam_unix(sshd:auth): authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=ssh ruser= rhost=192.31.37.13
Feb 11 01:37:07 localhost sshd[13953]: pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user ajith
When I catch them, the majority of the IP #'s match up to systems which have been rootkitted. The stream of odd login names always catches me off guard, sometimes in english, sometimes japanese or chinese. Does anyone know of someone that keeps track of these things, so I can send my logfiles to?
Karma Whoring for Fun and Profit.
...It begs the question "how am I funny to you?"
You were critically hit for no damage. The bruise will look nice, and maybe the scars will make good party talk.
The problem is that no matter how well YOU protect yourself, other agencies have your personal information in their databases.
What happens if your employer loses a laptop with your SSN, name, etc on it?
Eventually, the criminals are just going to start building a database with whatever information they can find.
Then they'll use that database to take out a second mortgage on your home, purchase a new car and open a few credit cards under your name.
You'll lose more money than you have. And you'll never have a chance to prevent it. Because all the information will be "leaked" from 3rd parties.
Be a shame if sumfin' were to happen to it, like.
Hand me your cache!
(Sorry - for humor I go for quantity, not quality.)
"In 2006, only a small percentage of attackers employed camouflaging techniques, but this number soared to 80 percent during the first half of 2007."
If they're going to hose my Windows boxen and install spurious applications of dubious intent, I find that I prefer if they camouflage their attempts so as not to bother me with constant popups from the system tray telling me to install their spyware to get rid of spyware.
The web is not just HTML at this point. Both QuickTime and RealPlayer have had notable exploits in the past few months. Acrobat and Flash have had major security holes as well. Just relying on the fact that you're using Firefox doesn't mean that you're not vulnerable.