Fwd: cDc SECURITY ALERT

Tim Byars (tbyars@earthlink.net)
Thu, 23 Jul 1998 09:26:02 -0700


<< start of forwarded material >>

-> ____________________________________________________________________________
-> _ _
-> SECURITY ALERT ((___))
SECURITY ALERT
-> [ x x ]
-> \ /
-> (' ')
-> (U)
->
->
-> ____________________________www.cultdeadcow.com_____________________________
->
-> RUNNING A MICROSOFT OPERATING SYSTEM ON A NETWORK? OUR CONDOLENCES.
->
-> [July 21, San Francisco] The CULT OF THE DEAD COW (cDc) will
release Back
-> Orifice, a remote MS Windows Administration tool at Defcon VI in
Las Vegas
-> (www.defcon.org) on August 1. Programmed by Sir Dystic [cDc], Back
Orifice
-> is a self-contained, self-installing utility which allows the user to
-> control and monitor computers running the Windows operating system
over a
-> network.
->
-> Sir Dystic sounded like an overworked sysadmin when he said, "The
two main
-> legitimate purposes for BO are, remote tech support aid and employee
-> monitoring and administering [of a Windows network]."
->
-> Back Orifice is going to be made available to anyone who takes the
time to
-> download it. So what does that mean for anyone who's bought into
-> Microsoft's Swiss cheese approach to security? Plenty according to
-> Mike Bloom, Chief Technical Officer for Gomi Media in Toronto.
->
-> "The current path of learning I see around me is to learn what you
have to
-> to cover your ass, go home and watch Jerry. Microsoft has
capitalized on
-> this at the cost of production value which translates down to
security. A
-> move like releasing [Back Orifice] means that the lowest common
-> denominator of user will have to come to understand the threat, and
that
-> it is not from [Sir Dystic] writing an app that [potentially] turns
Win32
-> security on its ear, but that Microsoft has leveraged itself into a
-> position where anyone who wants to can download an app [or write their
-> own!] and learn a few tricks and make serious shit happen."
->
-> None of this is lost on Microsoft. But then again, they don't care.
-> Security is way down on their list of priorities according to security
-> expert Russ Cooper of NT BUGTRAQ (www.ntbugtraq.com). "Microsoft
doesn't
-> care about security because I don't believe they think it affects their
-> profit. And honestly, it probably doesn't." Nice. But regardless of
which
-> side of the firewall you sit on, you can't afford not to have a copy of
-> Back Orifice. Here are the specs:
->
-> Back Orifice (BO) allows the user to remotely control almost all
parts of
-> the operating system, including:
->
-> File system
-> Registry
-> System
-> Passwords
-> Network
-> Processes
->
-> * BO contains extensive multimedia control, allowing images to be
captured
-> from the server machine's screen, or from any video input device
attached
-> to the machine.
->
-> * BO has an integrated HTTP server, allowing uploads and downloads of
-> files to and from a machine on any port using any http client.
->
-> * BO has an integrated packet sniffer, allowing easy monitoring of
network
-> traffic.
->
-> * BO has an integrated keyboard monitor, allowing the easy logging of
-> keystrokes to a log file.
->
-> * BO allows connection redirection, allowing connections to be
bounced off
-> a machine to any other machine on the Internet.
->
-> * BO allows application redirection, allowing text based applications
-> running on the server machine to be controlled via a simple telnet
-> session. Even open a remote shell.
->
-> * BO has a simple plugin interface, allowing additional modules to be
-> written by third parties, and executed in Back Orifice's hidden system
-> process.
->
-> * BO is EASY TO INSTALL! Simply run the server, and it installs
itself,
-> and removes the executable it was originally run from, or it can be
-> attached to any other Windows executable, which will run normally after
-> installing the Back Orifice server.
->
-> * BO is TRANSPARENT! Back Orifice does not show up in the task
list, or
-> even the Close Programs dialog, it is automatically restarted each time
-> the computer boots, and does not affect the operation of any other
-> applications.
->
-> * BO is CONFIGURABLE! The filename that Back Orifice installs
itself as,
-> the port Back Orifice communicates on, and the encryption key are all
-> configurable before the server is installed.
->
-> * BO is ENCRYPTED! Communication packets used by Back Orifice are
-> encrypted with a user definable key, so only the intended client can
-> control the server.
->
-> * BO is FREE! All the functionality mentioned above AND MORE is
available
-> in the 120k server, along with an easy to use text based or GUI client,
-> Back Orifice comes with everything you need to distribute and
control any
-> number of machines.
->
-> * BO is GROWING! New features, increased efficiency, new plugins, and
-> more support are being added to Back Orifice every day.
->
-> After August 3, Back Orifice will be available from www.cultdeadcow.com
-> free of charge.
->
-> For further details or lucrative film offers, please contact:
->
-> The Deth Vegetable
-> Minister of Propaganda
-> CULT OF THE DEAD COW
-> veggie@cultdeadcow.com
->

<< end of forwarded material >>

--

The real problem wasn't Internet Explorer, it's the fact that people use the Windows operating system. - Simson L. Garfinkel

<> tbyars@earthlink.net <>