tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060198.post138697133864347994..comments2024-02-14T12:37:14.887+00:00Comments on IT Law in Ireland: Eircom hacking shows flaws in Irish computer crime lawTJ McIntyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565959875438814437noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060198.post-20641193701733226682011-09-11T11:20:20.926+01:002011-09-11T11:20:20.926+01:00The majority of internet users don't seem to b...The majority of internet users don't seem to be aware what a DNS server does, or that they themselves can actually change them.<br /><br />Recently I was looking into DNS servers. I found a program called 'NameBench' which compares different DNS servers and tells you the details of the better server(s) that you can use.<br /><br />You can download 'NameBench' from here.. http://code.google.com/p/namebench<br /><br />Going back to the topic in question, it's ironic that Eircom are pleading poverty. Yet their ADSL pricing is much higher than it's competitors. Oh I forgot.. Eircom are in excess of 3 billion in debt ;-pAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060198.post-23955877425674209642009-08-07T10:00:45.489+01:002009-08-07T10:00:45.489+01:00BT had the same problem (DNS cache poisoning) some...BT had the same problem (DNS cache poisoning) some two weeks before eircom witnessed it.<br />BT patched their systems very quickly limiting any outages down to a couple of hours.<br /><br />Eircom did not.<br /><br />Cutbacks?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060198.post-75237498997021526452009-07-14T10:31:20.266+01:002009-07-14T10:31:20.266+01:00the law isn't the problem here, if the offende...the law isn't the problem here, if the offenders are in fiji or north korea its not going to help. Eircom need to spend money on their network security design. Judging by their lack of investment else where i can only imagine the state of the top end systems.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060198.post-74009789477121757732009-07-14T08:54:31.672+01:002009-07-14T08:54:31.672+01:00The problem with attacks of this nature is the sou...The problem with attacks of this nature is the source is impossible to prove in most cases. Typically they involve hundreds of thousands of computers infected by malware, which are under the control of one or more bright people in far away places who know how to cover their tracks. Immune to Irish law.<br /><br />If it is an attack on eircom's nameservers, the simple solution is to specify the opendns.org name servers (208.67.222.222 / 208.67.220.220) in one's internet connection properties. <br /><br />If the IP number you are assigned by eircom is itself being DDoSed, re-boot the DSL modem and you will be assigned a new IP number.<br /><br />The average home computer is probably crawling with malware because the application software on it is not being patched for security vulnerabilities. A good place to check one's PC for vulnerable (out of date) software is www.secunia.dk. Follow the "scan your pc" link. (This will not remove viruses already present on your system - it will help prevent you acquiring new ones).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060198.post-34826426909303840442009-07-09T11:57:49.281+01:002009-07-09T11:57:49.281+01:00I stand corrected. Next task - thinking about whet...I stand corrected. Next task - thinking about whether DNS cache attacks would be punishable under existing law.TJ McIntyrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16565959875438814437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060198.post-9869363991874291692009-07-09T11:54:21.941+01:002009-07-09T11:54:21.941+01:00It wasn't a DoS attack. The DNS servers were p...It wasn't a DoS attack. The DNS servers were poisoned.<br /><br />I'm amazed that Eircom will not acknowledge what actually happened.. instead they pass it off as a distributed attack, trying to make out that they could have done nothing about it.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09937800350126783510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060198.post-85422013970716826082009-07-08T23:52:21.352+01:002009-07-08T23:52:21.352+01:00SOEDI - TJ.
Deficiencies in this area of the Iri...SOEDI - TJ. <br /><br />Deficiencies in this area of the Irish Criminal Law will be problematic.<br /><br />R.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11463947499806210883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9060198.post-12717377689963922822009-07-08T23:21:15.216+01:002009-07-08T23:21:15.216+01:00aside: I don't think it's credible that a ...aside: I don't think it's credible that a DOS can cause porn ads to appear in place of popular websites. My theory is that an attacker is using a high volume of messages to pollute the Eircom nameservers' cache somehow, so that other users will resolve the wrong addresses and be effectively redirected to his sites.Justin Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16955170493368020909noreply@blogger.com