CIAC A-12

Published in

· 28 Dec 2019

  

                                DRAFT 
________________________________________________________________________ 
              THE COMPUTER INCIDENT ADVISORY CAPABILITY 

                                 CIAC 

                      INFORMATION    BULLETIN 
________________________________________________________________________ 

DECNET Hacker Attack Alert 

January 18, 1990, 1430 PST                                      Number A-12 

CIAC has recently been advised of a series of hacker attacks on DECnet  
systems.  Hackers are using a variety of techniques to break into systems, 
including entering through system accounts (e.g., SYSTEM) or through  
user accounts in which the account name and password are identical.  Other  
hackers are using more sophisticated techniques. 
  
Once the hackers have broken into a system, they may cause a variety of  
problems.  They may become privileged users, and then leave executable  
images.  CIAC has also been advised that VMSMAIL_PROFILE.DATA may be  
altered to cause mail sent to the system manager and other accounts to  
be intercepted.  (Since mail delivery may be compromised, it may not be  
advisable for VMS system managers to alert users of these threats using  
electronic mail.)  In addition, they may modify RIGHTSLIST.DAT, causing  
problems with Access Control Lists. 

CIAC recommends that DECnet administrators increase monitoring activity. 
It is important to check for default account passwords and user accounts  
in which the user name is the same as the password.  However, the more  
sophisticated penetration methods may be difficult to detect.  At a  
minimum, you may want to ensure that all your privileged accounts are  
authorized. 

If you have questions, please contact CIAC: 

        Eugene Schultz (415) 422-8193 or (FTS) 532-8193  
        FAX:  (415) 423-0913 or (FTS) 543-0913 

CIAC's 24-hour emergency hot-line number is (415) 971-9384 

or send e-mail to:  ciac@tiger.llnl.gov 
  
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