Hackers Attack Key Net Traffic Computers

07 February 2007

Hackers Attack Key Net Traffic Computers
By TED BRIDIS. AP. WASHINGTON (AP) 2/6/2007, 9:19 p.m. ET
Hackers briefly overwhelmed at least three of the 13 computers that help manage global computer traffic Tuesday in one of the most significant attacks against the Internet since 2002.
Key Net servers in suspected attackZDNet - 1 hour ago Feb 07, 2007
There are signs that hackers attacked key parts of the backbone of the Internet on Tuesday, but no damage seems to have been done, experts said. The attack appears to have focused on the Domain Name System, which maps text-based domain names, such as "News.com," to the actual numeric IP addresses of servers connected to the Internet, and vice versa. Several key DNS servers saw traffic spike in the early in the morning on Tuesday, several experts said--a sign of an attack.
HP tries harder to woo Sun customers
February 6, 2007 9:54 AM PST
CNet News.com
Hewlett-Packard on Tuesday unveiled an expanded program to woo Sun server customers using either Sun's Sparc processors or x86 chips from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.

Sun Teams With Intel, Aims For Broader x86 User BaseComputerworld, MA - February 06, 2007
The IT direction that Canadian insurer Medavie Blue Cross has set for itself illustrates one of the reasons why Sun Microsystems Inc. announced last week that it has agreed to once again sell servers based on Intel chips. When Medavie started running Web applications in 2000, Sun’s UltraSparc-based systems dominated that market, and software vendors were desigining applications specifically for Sun’s Solaris operating system, said Don McPhee, director of technical services at the Moncton, New Brunswick-based insurer.

RSA: New threats could make traditional antivirus tools ineffectiveComputerworld, MA February 06, 2007
An emerging breed of sophisticated malware is raising doubts about the ability of traditional signature-based security software to fend off new viruses and worms, according to experts at this week's RSA security conference here.
New Threats Could Hamper Antivirus ToolsPC World - February 07, 2007
Signature-based technologies are now "crumbling under the pressure of the number of attacks from cybercriminals," said Art Coviello, president of RSA Inc., the security division of EMC Corp. This year alone, about 200,000 virus variants are expected to be released, he said. At the same time, antivirus companies are, on average, at least two months behind in tracking malware. And "static" intrusion-detection systems can intercept only about 70% of new threats.
Microsoft Pledges Support for OpenIDPC World
Microsoft Corp. has thrown its weight behind OpenID, an emerging Web authentication standard.
The announcement was made Tuesday at the RSA Conference in San Francisco during a joint keynote by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie that was long on vision and short on specifics

Microsoft Courts OpenID
By Michael Singer InformationWeek Feb 06, 2007 02:46
Bill Gates touts collaboration with an open source identity framework to augment Microsoft's Windows CardSpace initiative and Web security standards.
Despite recent security improvements to its next generation of software, Microsoft announced plans Tuesday to augment its own identity authentication standards with the OpenID framework.