Information Technology Moves to Into Business
Tech Talk Guest: Lavona Suppes, Dean of Undergraduate Studies Business grads must know how to leverage technology to achieve a sustained competitive advantage Learn how to make a business case for technology
Return on investment Turn data centers into profit centers Management and Delegation Skills Decision making and leadership skills Understand technology, but speak as a businessman
Stratford’s Bachelor Degree in Business Administration
Bug in Sendmail Fixed This Week (Announcement Delayed by Government)
Bug was found in December 2002 by Internet Security Systems They worked with Department of Homeland Security to warn companies and countries while patch was being developed Patch is now widely in place. Exploit announced publicly on Monday Was this the ?right? approach?
Windows Root Kits May Be More Prevalent Than Thought
Most exploits (like SubSeven or Back Oriface 2000 ) operate at the User Level Root Kit sit between the User and the Operating System Commonly available for Unix/Linux and not common for Windows
Mask presence by intercepting calls for files listing, open programs, etc. Also known as kernel mode Trojans
Latest Windows Rootkit: Slanret, IERK, or BackdoorALI Others include: NT Rootkit, HE4Hook, Hacker Defender All are available on Rootkit.com
Wireless Security Update
Tech Talk went War Driving again with the following setup
Washington
We detected over 160 access points between Vienna (VA) and WMAL
Default firewall name (and probably password) found on 55% of all access points Wireless Encyption Protocol (WEP) deployed on only 30% DHCP deployed on most networks so IP addresses were given out to rogue machines
Recommended configuration (for at least modest security)
Implement Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP) Limit access to network to specific MAC addresses (printed on network card) Change password on firewall from the default value
Additional security recommendations (for the paranoid )
Use fixed IP addresses rather than DHCP Change the internal address of the firewall from the default value (192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1) Use a VPN for an additional encryption layer
Spam?s Cost to Business Escalates
Roughly 40% of email traffic is spam Up from 8% in 2001 According to Ferris Research, spam will cost organizations $10 billion this year AOL spam filters block 1 billion message per day
Toshiba is working on fuel cell for laptops Cell will use 50 cc cartridges of methanol for five hours of power Average output power is 12 Watts with a max output of 20 Watts Should be on the market by 2004 Toshiba is working on 10 hour fuel cell
Alexandria is top Identity Theft Jurisdiction in Virginia
Alexandria reported 114 identify theft cases in 2002 (up from 78 in 2001) 279 cases were reported in Virginia for 2002 Alexandria credits a better reporting and tracking system for this distinction Identify theft is usually detected when reviewing a credit report for fraudulent credit card charges Check out the Identity Theft Central Website maintained by Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Supreme Court asked to bar Library Internet Filters
Free speech is pitted against child protection Ineffectiveness of filters may be a factor Blocking bases on key words is simply too broad and content intent is difficult to screen
Mailbag
Another spyware program and ?de? is Germany Can ProxyConn really speed up my dialup connecton? Why type of computer would you buy?
Stratford
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