Tuesday, February 8, 1994

A RISE IN INTERNET BREAK-INS SETS OFF A SECURITY ALARM [Excerpt]- By PETER H. LEWIS, c.1994 N.Y. Times News Service NEW YORK Citing computer-security violations of unprecedented scope, security experts have issued a warning that unknown assailants have been breaking into scores of government, corporate and university computers connected to the global Internet communications network. Saying that it had been ``flooded'' with reports of computer break-ins in the last week, the federally supported Computer Emergency Response Team broadcast its warning late Thursday night over the Internet, a web of computer networks used by an estimated 15 million people in the United States and abroad. Sophisticated software, secretly planted on various computers throughout the Internet, has allowed unknown intruders to steal passwords and electronic addresses from legitimate users, computer security experts said Friday. [The full article summarizes a situation that by now should be familiar to RISKS readers. See the following CERT Advisory, and a comment from Klaus Brunnstein. See also articles the same day in the Washington Post and elsewhere. PGN] ["Peter G. Neumann" via risks-digest Volume 15, Issue 45] 19:03 # G!

Don't trust the phone company I am the victim of false accusations. My wife and I were at home some time last week. I was busy cooking dinner. My wife was busy chasing our two year old, when we received a phone call which my wife accepted. The fellow on the other end of the line was extremely irate. His wife has been receiving obscene phone calls for some time now. He had purchased the service provided by the phone company which allows you to call back the last person to dial you. After his wife had discontinued the obscene call she'd just received, he had used this feature to righteously confront her abuser. Instead he had dialed us. This was somewhat perplexing until a few minutes later, my wife's best friend called. Imediately after saying hello, My wife began relating this strange occurence to her friend. Her friend then told my wife that it was her husband who had made this call utilizing this phone service. This has put a heavy strain upon my wife's relationship with her friend, because her friend's husband has assumed that I am the author of these obscene calls. Whereas I barely have time for all the things which fill my life. I have no time or interest in making such calls. It is my belief that my wife had tried to call her best friend during the obscene phone call. This attempt overwrote the perpetrator's number, so that when the call back service was used, our phone rang instead. If there are any knowledgeable netter's out there that could give me any more info, I'd appreciate it. Regards Tom Bodine [tbodine@utig.ig.utexas.edu (Tom Bodine) via risks-digest Volume 15, Issue 46] 13:53 # G!