'Death of the internet' warning issued

Researchers have discovered a serious vulnerability in a widely-used network protocol which could lead to an internet meltdown.

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) which is used in hubs, routers, servers and switches, has a flaw which could result in a major outage of the whole internet if exploited fully, according to CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team), the web security monitoring service.

The vulnerabilities were originally found by the Oulu University Secure Programming Group, a Finnish academic research group.

The flaws depend on how each vendor has implemented the protocol, but could lead to a series of denial of service (DOS) attacks, service interruption. It could also open up access to network controls.

Earlier last month CERT warned of increased hack attacks to routers and issued an advisory to alert companies to the fact that hackers are increasingly targeting specific vulnerabilities in routers and switches.

IT departments worried about the possible vulnerabilities should contact their vendor for appropriate patches.

See http://www.cert.org for more information.