The Battalion
Classified
Advertising
• Easy
• Affordable
• Effective
For information call
345-0569
Choice for over 19 years I
SPRING BREAK
jnCJMWMMECO
nMznnnr*
- „ BRECKINRIDGE
11 ¥JUl BOWER CHEEK
U ■ olVl KfYSrOMEA-BASIK
ummum
www.uniwarsliyli8acaclBh.com
4B
Monday, January 27, 2003
NATIOf
THE BATTALIO!
Latest computer worm exposes
reactionary nature to security flaws
You CouCeC ‘Be 91
“Beauty Qyeen
Student Pageant Association
H
°c'e/ /
'Oc
,e sS
Come See What We’re All About:
SC^' 9 '
SWEET TOOTH SOCIAL
Jan. 28, 7:00 p.m.
NSC 229
http://stuact.tamu.edu/stuorgs/pageant
By Anick Jesdanun
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Show this Saturday, Feb. 1 st , 9:00 p.m.
at Rudder Auditorium for
Freudian Slip
improv comedy
Tickets now on sale at Rudder Box Office for $ 5
Come fully dressed in a ninja, toga, fairy
or pirate costume and get in for $ 3H
NEW YORK — The latest
virus-like attack on the Internet
exposes more than a software
flaw: The very strategy that
managers of computer networks
typically adopt for security has
proven inadequate.
As network technicians
worked Sunday to complete
repairs to damage caused by
Saturday’s fast-spreading worm,
government and private security
experts worried that too many
security managers are only fix
ing problems as they occur,
rather than keeping their defens
es up-to-date.
Security experts said Sunday
that the problem was largely
under control, though some
worried that lingering infections
could appear when businesses
reopen Monday.
The FBI said Sunday that the
attack’s origin was still
unknown.
The worm that crippled tens
of thousands of computers
worldwide and congested the
network for countless others,
even disabling Bank of America
cash machines, took advantage
of a vulnerability in some
Microsoft Corp. software that
had been discovered in July.
Microsoft had made software
updates available to patch the
vulnerability in its SQL Server
2000 software — used mostly
by businesses and governments
— but many system administra
tors had yet to install them.
“There was a lot that could
have been done between July
and now,” said Howard A.
Schmidt, President Bush’s No. 2
cybersecurity adviser. “We
make sure we have air in our
tires and brakes get checked. We
also need to make sure we keep
computers up-to-date.”
As the worm infected one
computer, it was programmed to
seek other victims by sending
out thousands of probes a sec
ond, saturating many Internet
data pipelines.
Unlike most viruses and
worms, it spread directly
through network connections
and did not need e-mail as a car
rier. Thus, only network admin
istrators who run the servers, not
end users, could do anything to
remedy the situation.
According to Keynote
Systems Inc., which measures
Internet reliability and speed,
network congestion increased
download times at the largest
U.S. Web sites by an average of
50 percent, and some sites were
completely unavailable at times
Saturday.
Bruce Schneier, chief tech
nology officer at Counterpane
Internet Security, said the attack
proves that relying on patches is
‘Slammer’ worm slows Internet traffic
The virus-like attack, which began about 12:30 a.m. EST, sought
out vulnerable computers on the Internet to infect using a known
flaw in popular database software from Microsoft Corp., called
“SQL Server 2000."
The “Slammer”
worm — the
attacking software
— probed the
Internet randomly
and aggressively
for vulnerable /
computers
running a faulty
version of “SQL
Server 2000".
Server
Patch
After entering server, the
attacking software took
over the server and
"locked it up.”
Then the worm replicated itself
and sent more probes back to the
Web. These large numbers of
probes swamped the world's
digital pipelines.
l
To combat this onslaught
system administrators Mera
their servers for the worn
and installed a patch tha:
fixed the flaw in the prograr
SOURCES: Associated Press: Matnx NetSystems Inc.
Cagayaif
flawed “not because it’s not
effective, but many don’t do it.”
Two of the previous major
outbreaks. Code Red and
Nimda, also exploited known
problems for which patches
were available.
But with more than 4,(XX)
new vulnerabilities reported last
year, according to the
government-funded CERT
Coordination Center at Carnegie
Mellon University, system
administrators can have trouble
keeping up.
Patches also
i
M
take time.l
alpra
suit ;
wrec
health care sy
the recent nat
troversy over
ability of heal
and prescript!
prices, it seen
odd that man)
tinue to value
ests of their n
lawyers’ asso<
those of ordin
affordable ant
Indeed, that vt
speech Preside
gave this mon
Penn. In it, he
currently in C
among other t
install and could disrupt oftl nationwide ca
«vrpmv; :inrt unnliratiirI hitani “n-iin -ji
systems and application)
Schmidt said many netwt
managers delay installing pat
es to fully test them first.
Microsoft spokesman Ria
Miller said the company j
working with network proft
sionals to develop better too
including ones to automatical 1
scan systems for kno 1
vulnerabilities.
Jm
Tutoring & Test Review
wants you to get better grades.
Don’t wait, get a good jump on your GPA!
We offer the highest quality tutoring in town
to help improve your grades!
Classes offered include:
Acct 209
Chem 107
Fine 309
Math 151
Mgmt 363
Acct 210
Econ 202
Fine 341
Math 152
Mktg
309
Acct 229
Econ 203
Info 303
Math 166
Mktg
321
Acct 230
Econ 311
Info 305
Mgmt 209
Biol 113
Econ 322
Info 364
Mgmt 211
Biol 114
Engr 212
Math 142
Mgmt 309
*Phys 201 *Phys 202 *Phys208 *Phys218
* The first night of tutoring for Physics is free!
> Get tickets at 4.0 & Go or online at
www.4.OandGo.com
and avoid standing in ticket lines!
> Season Passes now on sale, good discount!
www.4. OandGo. com
696-TUTOR
(8886)
NEWS IN BRIEF
Survey: gas prices
rise more than a
penny nationwide
in Scranton ar
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) - & surgeons are r
prices rose nearly one and ahu trauma patiem
cents per gallon over the cannot afford
two weeks, an industry anal}!
said Sunday.
The average weighted pricefc three years th
of California,
this may be a
to Pennsylvan
According to
Times article,
at several hos
handle of We:
Gu
A;
gas nationwide, including
grades and taxes, was aba
Si.52 per gallon Friday, accoit
ing to the Lundberg Survey;
8,000 stations nationwide. &
cost just over Si.50 a gallont
Jan. 3, the date of the hfll
Lundberg Survey.
Contributing to the price (b
was the continuing oil prodm
tion strike in Venezuela, a feaif
war against Iraq, the intens
cold weather on America's ES
Coast, which is prompting 50®
refiners to produce more bea!
ing oil, and the addition oh
costlier gasoline additive
California, Lundberg said.
California is phasing out d
use of Methyl Tertiary But
ether, or MTBE, an additivetb?
is blamed for polluting drinkii'i
water after it leaked from sW
age tanks. Some refineries as ^. ni ^! n ^ r ‘! m '"
beginning to replace it tfi 1, eat ’ Iee "
ethanol, a corn-based fuel }
tive that is more expensive h:
better for the environmef
Lundberg said.
Federal law requires gasolir
to contain a 2 percent oxyga
additive — such as MTBE t
ethanol — to cut down on a
pollution.
The national weighted averaf
price of gasoline, include
taxes, at self-serve pumps Frida
was about Si.49 per gallon I
regular, Si.58 for mid-gradeai’'
Si.67 for premium.
bitant "pain ai
ages awarded
tice plaintiffs,
policy propos;
proven to wor
states that hav
measures.
Bush chos(
Pennsylvania
recently becoi
what can hapf
trial lawyers a
plaintiffs, mo?
suffered becai
are allowed to
over the civil
According to
Journal, three
cular surgeon;
In Philadel
damages were
Experiments keep
shuttle Columbia's
astronauts busy
SPACE CENTER, Houston f
— Space shuttle Columbia
astronauts kept busy Sunday* 1
they continued their 16-d*
mission of conducting scien#
experiments.
Astronaut Laurel Cla 1 '
worked on a study of howba (
teria and yeast develop
space and how reduced gravf
affects their response to a#
otics.
The experiment is one ofse'
eral from the European Spa t:
Agency.
The results will be compa^
with results of an experir#
conducted on Earth.
"We're just all thrilled tb<
everything is going as well a 5
is," Clark said.
Columbia is due back c
Earth Saturday.
s the i
rying
.the W
area sniper al
toward hospi
doubt many I
chasing close
On Oct. 2
Muhammed
Maivo allege
rifled. Muhai
arrested on C
Accord inj
Post, the fam
victims have
alleged snipe
gun was sup]
gun manufac
used in the si
Their suit
facturer. Bus
gence for sir
This is just tl
an overly liti
suing anythii
Bushmast
rifle, which i
manufacture
United State
realize a law
drifters like
would net nc
ed court doc
Bushmas
of the blame
blame lies sc
pie who con
The old T
adage is sim
“Guns don’t
people.”
In the ab;
demented er
will find oth
destruction,
known to sh
make homer
have the san
While th<
justifiably a
attacks, not!
pain or loss.
Although
not legitimi: