Major Flaw Discoverd in Internet Design

A major flaw has been discovered in the basic design of the Internet that leaves corporate systems as well as individual users highly vulnerable to attacks by even the most amateur hacker.

Dan Kaminsky of Seattle discovered a gaping flaw in one of the foundation stones of the Internet, the Domain Name System or the DNS.

The DNS directs netizens looking for a website by name to a numerical address that the Internet uses.

Kaminsky showed that using the loophole in the design of DNS, hackers can simply redirect unsuspecting users to a fake site and then easily dupe them in countless ways.

Thus hackers may thus lead you to a fake site providing misleading information, such as a fake bank site, etc.

Not only this, the flaw in the DNS could lead to hackers simply intercepting your emails, thus providing them with a plethora of your private information.

Many websites requiring passwords have a feature wherein you can recover a forgotten password by simply getting it mailed to your e mail id. By then intercepting your email, the hacker can learn all your passwords and then break into individual as well as corporate accounts, causing incalculable damage.

Realizing the magnitude of the problem and its dire consequences, the entire industry came together as one in this time of need. “The industry has rallied like we've never seen the industry rally before,”Kaminsky said.

Many big companies have already issued software patches. Companies such as Microsoft, Sun Microsystems etc have issued patches that cover up the security hole and prevent the system from being prone to attack.

Kaminski had earlier announced on July 8 that he'd found a major weakness in the Domain Name System, the foundation of internet, leading to weeks of speculation and conjectures.

Kaminsky provided particulars about the security flaw to several computer security professionals at the annual Black Hat USA convention.

The timely recognition of the problem and its quick remedy before any major disaster could occur is highly fortunate.

“There exist threats to the continued correct running of the Internet,” Kaminsky warned. “We have found one of them. There may be more.”