FC: So much for FBI warning of Internet attack that never happened

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

To be fair to the FBI, they now have a strong incentive (especially after 
we learned about the bureau's lack of internal communications before Sept. 
11) to sent out warnings -- just in case. If the FBI failed to do so and 
the public found out, you can imagine the repercussions. But at the same 
time, sending out warnings of vaporous threats that never materialize also 
can damage the FBI's credibility.

Previous Politech message:

"Network admins respond to FBI attack warning: 'More FUD!'"
http://www.politechbot.com/p-03852.html

-Declan

---

Date: Wed, 07 Aug 2002 09:54:43 -0400
From: "Neil Kohl" <nkohl () mail acponline org>
To: <politech () politechbot com>, <declan () well com>
Subject: Re: FC: Network admins respond to FBI attack warning: "More FUD!"

Declan,

The "attack" was a nonstarter:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Internet-Attacks.html

The AP article mentions Dshield, which is the first place to check for 
signs of a general attack. Dshield is part of the Internet Storm Center at 
http://www.incidents.org/. The site analyzes logs from 3000 firewalls 
around the world. It also collects news items and maintains a database of 
intrusion attempts.

The Internet Storm Center wouldn't show attacks against a specific ISP or 
domain unless they happen to be one of the monitored firewalls, but should 
show a general attack against a number of ISPs.


Neil Kohl
Manager, ACP-ASIM Online
American College of Physicians - American Society of Internal Medicine
nkohl () mail acponline org              215.351.2638, 800.523.1546 x2638




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