US fearful of failing internet security -- Slack Chat

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Subject: US fearful of failing internet security

Author:
Dave

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Date Posted: 05:16:42 01/23/02 Wed

US fearful of failing internet security

American internet security experts say the web is becoming ever more vulnerable to attacks and viruses.

The former head of the FBI's internet crime unit says security measures are constantly being outstripped by new threats.

The rise in the number of people with high-speed home internet connections is of particular concern.

Michael Vatis said: "The rate of growth of our vulnerabilities is exceeding the rate of improvements in security measures.

"We're not improving fast enough to keep pace with the problem, let alone get ahead of the problem."

Researchers at the US government-backed CERT emergency response centre received 52,658 reports of security breaches and attacks last year - more than double the figures for 2000.

Spokesperson Marty Lindner said that, while the increase partly reflects rising awareness, the figures also show that hackers are becoming ever more ingenious.

Last year, the internet was hit with a new class of worms, which, unlike viruses, do not require human intervention to spread.

Code Red and Nimda found new ways to propagate rapidly and tied up internet traffic worldwide by exploiting vulnerabilities in widely used software.

One version of Code Red was programmed to attack the White House's website on a given date. A second version installed a program that could give outsiders control of infected computers.

Story filed: 13:28 Tuesday 22nd January 2002

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