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Worm Attack Prompts DoD To Ban Use of External Media
An anonymous reader writes "The Pentagon has suffered from a cyber attack so alarming that it has taken the unprecedented step of banning the use of external hardware devices, such as flash drives and DVDs [...] The attack came in the form of a global virus or worm that is spreading rapidly throughout a number of military networks."
This sounds like common sense. Seriously. Several years ago, a military bud of mine said that the worst threat to their security is the USB flash drive.
... external media bans DOD!
Tsunami -- You can't bring a good wave down!
Sounds like someone forgot to disable auto-run.
Do you honestly think that foreign intelligence agencies won't write Linux or Macintosh viruses if it would get them into the DoD network? The OS might be part of the problem, but users are the much bigger one.
Chuck Windows, and adopt Unix. I realize there are some possible implications of using Linux because of the GPL, but then use BSD. There are bright Comp Sci guys in the military and DOD. Customize a military Unix, and use it throughout all the services. In fact, I think it's long past time DOD did this. With the computerization of everything from planes to ships, now's a smart time to do it. There's no way Windows should be running a ship of war.
Life is hard, and the world is cruel
It looks like you're trying to blow up that building. Would you like to use:
1)Grenade
2)An RPG
3)Airstrike
Dave Richards, the administrator of the Largo, Florida computer network, came up against this problem. He made the system mount USB disks as FTP shares, and made the file browser hide any executable files on the share so they couldn't be transferred.http://davelargo.blogspot.com/2008/02/hp-thin-clients-and-usb-access-for.html
I'm not surprised the DoD just completely shut the door on these things, but I think that for most admins, a solution like Dave's would be a really good compromise.
make war
Yesterday, a terrorist attack on the NHS brought three London hospitals to a halt.
The terrorists, representing an organisation calling itself "Microsoft," apparently used insecure third-party contractors to put a virus-running platform called "Windows" into critical systems in the hospitals, in order to extort money from them on an annual basis.
It is understood that a large percentage of all businesses are infected with the virus, wasting up to 25% of employees' working time and opening the companies to further attacks from related criminal organisations demanding to see all their licenses.
The virus in question, W32.SHILL/ZDNET, takes over the host's IT systems, leading to aches, pains, nausea, vomiting, pumping out prodigious quantities of faeces and a terrible compulsion to spread the infection to others. The patient also walks with a shuddering stumble and asks for their hospital meal to include tasty, tasty brains. Recovery has commenced when they have an overwhelming urge to throw their computer out of the window. "Getting this stuff out of the system makes MRSA look like a walk in the park," said one cleaner, waving his shit-encrusted hands about for emphasis.
When the infection became known, ambulances were diverted to other hospitals. "We have maintained a safe environment for our patients throughout the incident," said a spokesman for Barts NHS Trust, "keeping them in the Clostridium difficile culturing lab rather than risking exposing them to 'Windows.'"
http://rocknerd.co.uk
Only it was with people bringing in docx files and expecting to use them with OpenOffice and blaming the IT department when it wouldn't work. So I followed some guides and wrote a script, threw it up in a GPO and now only Admins can use USB storage.
The procedure is a HUGE pain in the ass (you need to modify ACL's on registry keys and the whole 9 to cover all angles) but scripted it was as simple as "USBStorage.exe </enable|/disable>" in a logon script.
I think it took all of two hours.
Boot Windows, Linux, and ESX over the network for free.
Do you honestly think that foreign intelligence agencies won't write Linux or Macintosh viruses if it would get them into the DoD network?
When you try to protect a secret by putting in in a locked box, do you put it in a steel box with a good combination lock? Or do you put it in a cheap transparent plastic box with a lock that can be picked by a safety pin and hundreds of holes and little doors that can be opened even more easily?
Yes Linux, MacOS, and even OpenBSD aren't absolutely impregnable. But Windows has a decades long track record of holes (some unfixable) and a multibillion dollar malware industry built on exploiting them. The fewer holes you start with the easier it is to close them.
Essentially ANY military function is a security issue. For a person with any level of IT expertise to put such functions on Windows platforms is, IMHO, either a level of incompetence suitable for dishonorable discharge or of malice meeting the definition of treason.
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
Get real. Security all comes down to the person who's task it is to implement it. Running Unix (or any compatible rip off) only gives you an additional layer of security through obscurity . Sorry fanboys, it's true. It's not a end all solution, and you would still need someone to take the time to plan for any possible security breach. Obviously, that includes any media (CDs, FlashDrives, Floppies) attached to the system. This isn't the first military fuckup, now you want to blame Microsoft instead of the brass simply because you think it's a chance to expand your following. Please.
"When you see a unixer brainwashed beyond saving, kick him out of the door." - Xah Lee
Intelligence agencies did it to eliminate data paths out of the agency. DoD is doing it to eliminate malware paths into and within the agency.
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
There's no way you can automatically run code on a Linux computer by inserting a USB flash drive. It's just not possible. Those virus happen only because of Yet Another Windows Design Mistake - autorun.inf files that run executables.
This has been a problem for years. Make a program that deletes all the files in a system. Put it into a CD along with a autorun.inf file. Burn the CD, don't write anything on it, and leave it near the office of someone you hate. At some point the guy will insert the CD just to check what's there. Boom. The virus will run automatically as soon as the CD is inserted.
And there're more posibilities, like making a virus executable have a carpet icon. Since Windows hides extensions by default, people will double click the virus because they will think it's a carpet.
These things can't happen in Linux (well, not really true, they can happen thanks to the shitty .desktop files that get "interpreted" by file managers even if they don't have execution +x permissions)
Forgot to disable AutoRun, perhaps. But actually, it's quite non-intuitive how to disable AutoRun in Microsoft Windows. There are several options, and none of them (and even all of them combined) will disable AutoRun and AutoPlay features in their entirety. In fact, up until recently, Windows Vista had the logic reversed for one of the AutoRun features! i.e., if you take the effort to disable the AutoRun feature, you actually put yourself at more risk. More details here:
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/889747
But luckily, there is a single registry value that can disable AutoRun at its core. Once this change is made, Windows will not interpret the Autorun.inf file on any device, effectively disabling AutoRun for all devices, including USB drives, network shares, and more. Get the scoop here:
http://www.cert.org/blogs/vuls/2008/04/the_dangers_of_windows_autorun.html
d'oh, were I write "carpet" I obviously wanted to say "folder". "Folder" is translated to spanish as "carpeta", and I always confuse them.
That's the whole problem with you Linux dorks! People shouldn't have to get down to that level and do such obscure things, just to be able to safely use their computer. And what you don't understand is that most people just plain won't do it! Your post is exactly why Linux will never be ready for the desktop!
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
The pieces are finally starting to come together...
It's all so clear now.
It's actually quite a bit easier to do than that. Just disable usbstor.sys with GPO. done. Keyboards still work. Mice still work. Just mass storage devices. And whoever said you can't prevent execute on windows systems is ignorant. You've been able to deny "Read & Execute" via NTFS permissions since NT 3. Note: Read is a seperate right. Since you have to be able to read it to exectute it, it's just included in the permission description. Semantics. Here's something that may help you understand it. It's not that complicated. In reading the doc it will talk about share permissions and individual permissions, group permissions, and NTFS permissions all seperately, and what wins in what scenario, and will talk about scenarios that no administrator that is worth his salt would ever implement. When done correctly it's actually very simple. However it does have the flexibility to be as complex as one needs it to be. http://www.windowsecurity.com/articles/Understanding-Windows-NTFS-Permissions.html So there.
... what did you expect, something profound?