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Danger Will Robinson!

The first thing I noticed when scanning the tech-news headlines this morning was a sudden surge in reports of exploits, hacks and malware.

There appears to have been a massive spike in the amount of evil code lurking on the Net and this is something that affects each and every one of us - no matter how well patched our own systems are.

For example:

10,000 Linux servers have been hit with malware which dishes up spam and inflicts other problems on any unsuspecting visitor.

Google's DNS has been inadvertantly hijacked, causing some data to be re-routed via Venezuela.

A ColdFusion exploit has allowed evil little sods to set up a botnet that is affecting an unknown number of websites, allowing the operators to skim credit card details and other sensitive data.

The big worry about these exploits is that they affect even the most well-patched and up-to-date user systems -- because they don't rely on any vulnerabilities on a websurfer's own computer.

As Net users, we're reliant on those who operate websites and the internet infrastructure to protect us against these threats -- and it seems that they're fighting a losing battle against the purveyors of malware.

The problem that users face is that, given the nature of these attacks, they just have no way of avoiding contact with the effects of such malware.

It used to be the case that the majority of malware and such was rumoured to be served up by porn sites or other "seedy" areas of the Net but these days, given the agnostic nature of many such attacks, it could just as easily be a major news website or even a government webserver that dumps a power of spam on you or steals your credit-card numbers.

This recent phishing attack was a brilliantly clever exploit of Google's systems that allowed the perpetrators to actually host the pages under Google's own domain.

I for one, would not want to be a modern system administrator or network admin. The workload related to security has been growing steadily in recent years and looks likely to grow even further in the future.

One can't help but worry that, with so much money to be made by way of clever malware, whether the utility of the Net may soon be compromised to such an extent that people start turning away -- for fear of the evilness that lurks.

Would you walk down a dark alleyway at night if there was a one in twenty chance of being mugged?

Well the Net runs the risk of becoming a maze of dark alleys where evil little sods and organised crime waits to nab your credit card details, online banking logins and perhaps load your PC up with nasty spyware and malware. Would you go surfing or purchase stuff online if there was a one in twenty chance of being hacked?

Perhaps, instead of spying on the citizens of the free world, the NSA and their peers within the governments of the West ought to be applying their efforts and their budgets to keeping the Net a safe place to visit.

I strongly doubt that will happen -- but how long will it be before some power-hungry bureaucrat wakes up to the idea that licensing websites and Net users would be a great way to restore some safety and security to this medium?

Just wait for it -- a universal internet ID will be required to log on or conduct any transaction online and filters will be set up to restrict web-surfer's access to only those sites which carry a government-issued certification (which must be renewed annually for a fee).

Just as in "The War Against Terror", all these controls and restrictions will be created and enforced to "protect" us from evil.

Bookmark this column... it *will* happen eventually.

In the meantime -- be careful out there.

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