A year in review: security experts issue year-end hacker warning

Security managers should be on the lookout for more than just the millennium bug over New Year, according to Paul Cronin, product manager at security specialist, CenturyCom.

CenturyCom is one of many vendors warning companies to be aware of extra viruses and hacker attacks over the millennium changeover period.

"Hackers will of course attack anytime," Cronin told Silicon.com. "But over the Year 2000 a lot of security managers are going to be addressing different areas regarding Y2K. Attacks may go unnoticed due to people misinterpreting them as Y2K issues."

According to the company, businesses are likely to experience more viruses, denial-of-service attacks and compromising of Web site security, than at other times of the year.

"There's going to be an awful lot of viruses released - a lot of variants based on the Melissa virus," he warned. "And I think awareness is a really key issue."

He added that hacker groups are also likely to make the most of the disruption surrounding the date change. "But there's always going to be the factor of security issues being over-hyped," he admitted.

There are already rumours that two malicious denial-of-service programs, Tribe Flood Network and Trinoo, could be being improved in preparation for New Year attacks. The programs bombard specific points on the Internet until the target freezes up.

Cronin's warning was backed by Malcolm Skinner, product marketing manager at Axent: "Lots of small organisations which don't consider themselves vulnerable will be used as stepping stones for these denial-of-service attacks. They're very clever and almost impossible to trace.

"Viruses are a nuisance," Skinner added, "but the potential for serious damage is far greater with hacker attacks."

CenturyCom is recommending that companies look carefully at security and anti-virus policies before 1 January. "Make sure products are up-to-date with the latest fixes and patches applied," Cronin advised.

You can see the full interview with Paul Cronin in the Systems Security Channel and log on to Silicon.com tomorrow for our full Y2K virus round-up.