Computers Under Attack

This book collects some of the most informative, provocative, and frightening reports on the vulnerability of computer systems to harmful, if not catastrophic attacks,. Whether these attacks are carried out against computer networks or against personal computers — whether driven by mischief or by malice — the consequences can be costly and dangerous. Countermeasures are, in most cases, straightforward.

Peter J. Denning, Editor-in-Chief of Communications of the ACM, has been following and writing about computer security for many years. For this book, he has carefully selected a range of articles and commentaries to illuminate recent events and ongoing issues for both nontechnical and technical readers. The book, which is organized into six parts, opens with a discussion of the worldwide networks vulnerable to computer attack. Denning then defines and distinguishes among the various threats lately given widespread attention: intruders, worms, and viruses. The discussion of viruses provides the history and mode of operations of more than 100 viruses, with a guide for virus detection and removal in MS-DOS-based PCs.

Subsequent sections reach into the background, the technical details, and the effects of particular attacks, with reports from Cornell and M.I.T. in the Internet Worm incident, and Clifford Stoll's original account of the Wily Hacker. Part V transports the reader into the cyberpunk subculture, including an interview with the editor of W.O.R.M. magazine. A final section explores the sociopolitical, ethical, and legal implications of computer attacks, and introduces the concept of crimoids — media-driven, high-tech crimes — leaving the reader with this ominous suggestion: Future threats may be even greater than intruders, worms, and viruses.

Computer touch everyone in a modern society. The stories recounted in this book are a pointed warning that our computer systems are already under attack, that the privacy and integrity of information in our personal, business, and research activities are seriously threatened, and that the security of free societies is on the line. In order to thwart these attacks, we must all first recognize and understand the threat.

1. The Worldwide Network of Computers
1. Worldnet
   Peter J. Denning
2. The ARPANET after Twenty Years
   Peter J. Denning
3. Notable Computer Networks
   John S. Quarterman and Josiah C. Hoskins
4. Reflections on Trusting Trust
   Ken Thompson
5. Computer (In)security: Infiltrating Open Systems
   Ian H. Witten
2. Intruders
6. Reflections on SOme Recent Widespread Computer Break-Ins
   Brian Reid
7. The West German Hacker Incident and Other Intrusions
   Mel Mandell
8. Stalking the Wily Hacker
   Clifford Stoll
9. Computer Security in the Business World
   Maurice V. Wilkes
3. Worms
10. The Internet Worm
    Peter J. Denning
11. With Microscope and Tweezers: The Worm from MIT's Perspective
    Jon A Rochlis and Mark W. Elchin
12. Crisis and Aftermath
    Eugene H. Spafford
13. Password Cracking: A Game of Wits
    Donn Seeley
14. The Cornell Commission: On Morris and the Worm
    Ted Eisenberg, David Gries, Juris Hartmanis, Don Holcomb, M. Stuart Lynn, Thomas Santoro
15. The Worm Case: From Indictment to Verdict
    Lynn B. Montz
16. The "Worm" Programs — Early Experience with a Distributed Computation
    John F. Shoch and John A. Hupp
4. Viruses
17. Computer Viruses
    Peter J. Denning
18. The BRAIN Virus: Fact and Fantasy
    Dr. Harold Joseph Highland, FICS
19. Computer Viruses — A Post Mortem
    Dr. Harold Joseph Highland, FICS
20. A Computer Virus Primer
    Eugene H. Spafford, Kathleen A. Heaphy, David J. Ferbrache
21. Computer Virus Protection Procedures
    M. H. Brothers
22. Implications of Computer Viruses and Current Methods of Defense
    Fred Cohen
5. Countercultures
23. Are Computer Propert Rights Absolute?
    Richard M. Stallman
24. Consensual Realities in Cyberspace
    Paul Saffo
25. A Dialog on Hacking and Security
    Dorothy Denning and Frank Drake
6. Social, Legal, and Ethical Implications
26. Moral Clarity in the Computer Age
    Peter J. Denning
27. Our Global City
    James H. Morris
28. Two Bills Equal Forewarning
    Diane Crawford
29. U.S. General Accounting Office Report Highlights the Need for Improved Internet Management
30. Can Hackers Be Sued for Damages Caused by Computer Viruses
    Pamela Samuelson
31. Computer Viruses and Worms: Wrong, Crime, or Both?
    Pamela Samuelson
32. Sending a Signal
    Peter J. Denning
33. Viruses and Criminal Law
    Michael Gemignani
34. Computer Emergency Response
    William L. Sherlis, Stephen L. Squires, and Richard D. Pethia
35. Statement of Ethics
• NSF Poses Code of Networking Ethics
  David J. Farber
• CPSR STatement on the Computer Virus
  Gary Chapman
• Teaching Students About Responsible Use of Computers
  Jerome H. Saltzer
• Ethics and the Internet
  Vint Cerf
36. President's Letters
    Bryan Kocker
37. ACM Forum Letters
• Hack at the Screen Stalk
  Dr. Morton Grosser
• Casting Spells
  H. J. Gawlick
• Beyond Worms
  Severo M. Ornstein
• Take a Strong STand
  Donn B. Parker
• Vandalism or Prank?
  Thomas Nourten, Ph.D. and Eugene H. Spafford, Ph.D.
• Individual Responsibilities
  Edwin B. Heinlein
• Information SHaring
  David Makowsky
• Disrupting Communities
  Jakob Nielsen
• Maintaining Balance
  Jim Matthews
38. Law and Order for the Personal Computer
    Dennis Director
39. A Perspective From the RISKS Forum
    Peter G. Neumann
40. The Trojan Horse Virus and Other Crimoids
    Donn B. Parker

A reaction on the Internet Worm. Leaves you untouched.