Microsoft attack puts spotlight on security

Last week's denial of service attack on Microsoft will help to raise security awareness in the enterprise, claim resellers.

Last week's denial of service (DoS) attack on Microsoft will help to raise security awareness in the enterprise, claim resellers.

"Every time this happens, your average chief executive will think: 'I don't want this to happen to me'," said Bruce Murphy, chief executive of Vigilinx, a US-based security services firm. "The big issue is public embarrassment."

Microsoft reported that it was the target of a DoS attack last week that limited access to some of its websites, including Microsoft.com and MSN.com. The attack targeted routers that direct traffic to the company's sites.

The attack came nearly a year after distributed DoS (DDoS) attacks shut down Yahoo.com, Amazon.com and other high-profile sites.

A DDoS attack on a network floods it with so many requests that regular traffic is either slowed or halted.

Attackers plant DDoS programs in the systems of unwitting users, turning the systems into zombie-like vehicles that launch the stream of requests when they are activated.

"We have not had any recent publicised attacks, so this [Microsoft incident] does send a message that security is still very important," said Gary Fish, chief executive of US-based FishNet Security.

Murphy added that DoS attacks like the one that struck Microsoft happen fairly frequently. "I don't think anyone's running around saying the sky's falling," he said.

"These things happen every day, which requires companies to be more diligent and proactive about security issues. It's a recurring problem, and it's only going to continue to get worse," he added.