Q&A: Internet pioneer Stephen Crocker on this week's DDOS attack

Why SaaS is Vital to Email and Web Security Bringing Order and Security to your Mobile Workforce: Corporate Mobility Policy and Device Management Achiving Compliance Through Good Governance Qualified Security Assessors are not created equal Spam Spikes: A Real Risk to Your Business File Integrity Monitoring: Secure Your Virtual and Physical IT Environments Learn-Fast Guide: Software as a Service is Growing Up SaaS Solutions for Remote Systems Management Learn-Fast Guide: Software as a Service is Growing Up Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts

October 24, 2002 (Computerworld) -- This week's distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attack on the Domain Name System (DNS) root server system (see story) got the attention of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the U.S.-created private group that is charged with ensuring the stability and security of the DNS.
ICANN, which has been increasing its focus on security issues since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, formed a security committee to examine what can be done to improve DNS system security.
Internet pioneer Stephen Crocker, who helped develop protocols for Arpanet, the original network that became the basis for the Internet, chairs that committee. Crocker will be discussing the DDOS attacks at ICANN's annual meeting in Shanghai next week, and in an interview with Computerworld reporter Patrick Thibodeau, he assessed the impact of the recent attack and outlined some of the options for improving DNS security.
Q: What's your assessment of the DOS attack?

Internet pioneer Stephen Crocker

A: There is good news and complications here. There are 13 root servers. Some of them were effectively out of service for a while, but the impact on the whole community was negligible. Further good news is that a number of the servers were very, very well set up, well provisioned, have first-class staffs who rose to the occasion and worked very hard to stave off the affects of the attack and stay up in service.
In a sense, one can say, the defenses were tested and it turns out that the system is pretty good. The impact on the community was pretty modest.
Q: What's the bad news?
A: Does that mean we should all sleep soundly? Not really; suppose the attack was bigger or lasted longer?
I think the result there is somewhat nuanced. It's the nature of the DNS service that because there is a lot of caching [in other DNS servers], most of the world would go on pretty well for a long time, for a day or so, before there would be much degradation -- if all the servers went down.
If an attack went on for a day, vastly more resources would be brought to bear. It would be expensive, but I still think the impact on the community would have been relatively modest.
Q: How was the attack conducted?
A: There are two elements to an attack like this. The amount of traffic sent, and how long it goes on for. At the level of traffic that was generated, which was quite substantial, it effectively stopped some of servers from responding because they were overwhelmed with noise and not real traffic. But enough of them continued to operate and provide

Print this Story

Send Us Feedback

E-mail this Story

Digg this Story

Slashdot this Story

"Yes, NASA has confirmed that some laptops taken to the International Space Station were infected with an online-gaming password stealing..." Read more... "Linux is more secure than most operating systems, but Not if you don't practice basic security measures..." Read more... Read more Security posts or See all Blogs

Microsoft warns of IE8 lock-in with XP SP3 Malware infects space station laptops European court won't stop U.K. hacker's extradition to U.S. Update: Google may let users comment on, rearrange search results Apple forgets to fix iPhone passcode bug Air traffic network glitch cleared up -- for now As SSD factories explode, memory prices plummet Judge lets privacy advocate keep Social Security numbers on Web site Opinion: After the Core 2 Duo chip, what's next for Apple laptops? Closing of EDS deal brings HP closer to rivals More top stories...

Terror threat system crippled by technical flaws, says Congress Microsoft reveals IE8 Beta 2 Veoh ruling bolsters YouTube effort to fend of $1 billion Viacom suit Solid-state disk lackluster for laptops, PCs iPhone gets two AT&T data plans for international travelers Microsoft Office Live Small Biz suffers outage, possibly lost e-mail McCain's online reach surges in days before Dem convention Gold-medal cyclist leaned on Google Earth in training Microsoft adds privacy tools to IE8

15 great gadgets for the back-to-school crowd Here are 15 devices and add-ons that make the back-to-school computing experience extraordinary. The new employee connection: Social networking behind the firewall As Facebook-like apps infiltrate the enterprise, they're integrating the workforce in unforeseen ways. Build a three-screen workstation for $230 or less If you want to expand the visual capabilities of your laptop, you can add two monitors without spending a lot of time or money. The Asus Eee 1000 — more power, still portable The latest iteration of Asus' groundbreaking mini-notebook adds a faster CPU, a larger display and a better keyboard. Windows Vista A to Z Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS. More Continuing Coverage After 9/11: Homeland Security Apple's iPhone Ask a Premier 100 IT Leader Bill Gates steps down BlackBerry Legal Battle Data Security Breaches Electronic Voting Firefox H-1B Visas HP's Boardroom Scandal Handheld Devices Hurricane Katrina Aftermath Microsoft Legal Issues Microsoft's Vista Open Source RFID Technology SCO's Linux Fight Sarbanes-Oxley Act Spam Voice Over IP Wi-Fi Windows Meta File Vulnerability Windows XP Service Pack 3 IT Careers 2010 Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready? More Special Reports Premier 100 IT Leaders 2007 Best in Class 2006 Computerworld Horizon Awards 2006 Premier 100 IT Leaders 2006 Salary Survey 2007 Best Places to Work in IT 2007 IT Forecast 2007 Premier 100 IT Leaders 40 Years of Computerworld ASPs, Take Two Best Places to Work in IT 2003 Best Places to Work in IT 2004 Best Places to Work in IT 2005 Best Places to Work in IT 2006 Business Intelligence Home Runs Business Intelligence: Smarter BI Business Intelligence: The Future of BI CRM Goes Vertical CRM: Sober CRM Career Planning Guide 2005 Careers: IT Profession 2010 Computerworld Horizon Awards 2005 Data Management: Mining for Gems Data Management: Taming Data Chaos Development: Hard-Workin' Web Sites Development: New Tools New Choices Development: The New World of Application Development Development: The Web Services Tsunami Development: Web Services Hurdles Disaster Recovery: Preparing for the Worst E-commerce Grows Up E-mail/Groupware: Big Decisions Faces of Mobile IT Forecast 2006 Global Mobile Hardware: Multiple Cores, Multiple Challenges Hardware: On-Demand Un-Hyped Hardware: The Shape of Things to Come Horizon Awards: 10 Cool Cutting Edge Technologies IT Management: Guide to Managing Vendors IT Management: Navigating Global IT IT Management: Recovery Ahead IT Management: The Future of IT IT Management: The Resourceful Project Manager Innovative Technology Awards 2004 Management: Reinventing IT Microsoft in Transition Mobile/Wireless Leaders and Laggards Mobile/Wireless: The Untethered Worker Mobile/Wireless: Tiny Gadgets, Huge Costs Network Management: Taking Control Networking: Turbulence Ahead! Networking: VoIP Goes Mainstream Operating Systems: In the Slow Lane Operating Systems: Linux Goes Global Operating Systems: Should You Nix Unix? Outsourcing: Offshore Buyer's Guide Outsourcing: Outsourcing Dangers Premier 100 IT Leaders 2004 Best in Class Premier 100 IT Leaders 2005 Best in Class ROI: Do the Math! Salary Survey 2003 Salary Survey 2004 Salary Survey 2005 Security Action Plan Security: Compliance Headaches Security: Proactive Security Security: Risk and Reward Security: Tips From Security Pros Souped-up Security Storage: Battling Complexity Storage: Cheap & Secure Data Stores Storage: Stretching Your Storage Dollars Storage: The Lean Storage Machine Storage: The New Rules of Storage Storage: The Ultimate Backup Guide Supply Chain: Missing Links Supply Chain: RFID Reality Check The Business of Security Web 2.0 Security Wireless: Wireless At Work All Zones Application Performance Zone Business Continuity Zone The File Data Management Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone Windows Protection Zone Identity & Security Management Zone See your link here

From Laggard to Leader: Transforming the Data Center From Laggard to Leader: Transforming the Data Center Register for this complimentary live webcast today! Go to the webcast  Computerworld Executive Bulletin: Building a Robust Antivirus Defense Download this Executive Bulletin (a $49.95 value) for free, compliments of MessageLabs. (Source: MessageLabs) Antivirus software alone isn't enough to prevent today's speedy, sophisticated virus attacks. Security managers should consider multitiered approaches that include behavior scanning, appliances that check e-mail for worms, and restricting user access to dangerous Web sites. Download this Executive Bulletin (a $49.95 value) for free, compliments of MessageLabs, to learn more. Download this executive briefing  Online Security Issues in Regulated Industries Download this research paper, free for a limited time, compliments of Webroot! (Source: Webroot Software) In June 2008, Computerworld invited IT and business leaders to participate in a survey on online security initiatives at their organizations. The goal of the survey was to better understand Web and e-mail security issues faced today within the regulated education, financial services, government and health care industries. The following report represents top-line results of that survey. Download this white paper  White Papers Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. Cut Data Center Energy Costs Powering Change in the Data Center Five Technologies Simplifying Infrastructure Management View more whitepapers

• Microsoft warns of IE8 lock-in with XP SP3
• Terror threat system crippled by technical flaws, says Congress
• Malware infects space station laptops
• More top stories 

Security Management Zone Security management is the process of developing a comprehensive data protection plan. It takes into account all potential threats, the existing network environment, the future needs of the organization, and lays out a multi-tiered blueprint to integrate the security technology needed to combat these threats. CDW can help keep your network and data secure. Visit the CDW Security Management Zone now See All Zones

Fired up about IT? Join Sharkbait and share your true tales of IT. SharkBait is the place for you to sound off about everything IT – the good, the bad, and the rest of the weird stuff you deal with every day. New baits

Identity & Security Management Solve your compliance problems and mitigate risk. Automate, validate and enforce business governance with Novell Identity Management and Security solutions. Learn more in the Identity & Security Management Zone See All Zones

In Security Stripping away the trappings of applications, systems and networks, information is the core asset of most organizations. Our columnist describes how asserting the importance of information governance is crucial to making that asset tangible, addressable and protected. Click here to read the latest column by Jon Espenschied