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List:       isn
Subject:    [ISN] WIN2K is even easier to deface than NT
From:       InfoSec News <isn () C4I ! ORG>
Date:       2001-04-25 20:43:32
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http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/8/18515.html

By: John Leyden
Posted: 25/04/2001 at 16:10 GMT

Firms upgrading their computer systems to the Windows 2000 operating
systems from NT 4 are exposing themselves to greater security risks
from Web site defacement.

Records kept by security site Attrition.org indicate that an average
of 55 per cent of Web site defacements so far this year are linked to
exploitation of Windows NT operating systems vulnerabilities. Linux is
the second most commonly hacked Web server and accounted for around 21
per cent of Web page defacement last month.

However buried within these figures is a trend of increased
exploitation of sites running Windows 2000.

One in ten defaced Web sites in the Attrition archive run Windows
2000, which is racing ahead of the deployment of the technology. Prior
to November 2000 less than 3 per cent of defacement were on Windows
2000 servers. The sharp increase since then is likely to be related to
the release of exploits against Microsoft's IIS 5 Web server software.

This is having a real effect as s'kiddies are exploiting Windows 2000
vulnerabilities to claim an ever increasing number of high-profile
victims including: The Walt Disney Company, The Wall Street Journal,
BT, HSBC, The US Navy and The US Army.

Graeme Pinkley, of managed services security firm Activis, said that
many firms had been "duped" into a false sense of security with
Windows 2000 because of Microsoft's claims of enhanced security
functionality with the operating system.

Pinkley said he wouldn't advise customers against using Windows 2000,
which he said could be securely configured by people properly aware of
latest security issues. This goes for any operating system but is all
the more important for NT users, according to Activis.

"Building a secure site with Windows 2000 is like looking after a
small child. It needs constant attention," said Pinkley, who added
that regular vulnerability scanning and security audits are also a
good idea for those administering Linux Web servers.

Statistics on defacements from Attrition
http://www.attrition.org/mirror/attrition/os.html

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