The cases I have covered here are real life cases, nothing have been added for dramatic effects. I know that it is not all networks that are this vulnerable, but let's be serious, secured networks are the exception, not the norm. The norm, it is what is explained in this paper. This is even worse than a worm that walks across webserver to webserver (although Code Red II made it interesting by backdooring the servers it infected in order to make it even easier than what is shown in this paper to hack the machines) or an e-mail virus that send files out. These problems are also serious enough to take care of, but it's only the tip of the iceberg.
Now, with all the desinformation going on, attempt by companies to shut down free speech concerning computer security research and related topics, up to the point of arresting a russian programmer this summer for writing a "circumvention decice", and all the other abuses of the DMCA, I wonder what will happen to me and this paper. Will I be arrested for showing out how to "circumvent a security mecanism" by fooling the antivirus? This may seems like a dumb and ridiculous joke pointed out to the spooks out there, but to tell you frankly, I see hackers as being the target of the new witch hunt of the 2000's. It is sad, because they are the very same people who built this wonderful network that is Internet, and they are the people who can most contribute to its securing, by doing research and sharing information.
But the thing is, and it should be obvious by now to the reader, that the systems out there are massively and highly unsecure, and stopping people talking about these issues, and keeping the public in ignorance by putting fear into them fueled by mass-medias hysteria is not gonna help. In order to solve these issues, priorities will have to be made, and those who choose the right priorities are probably those who are gonna win in the long run. In the meantime, anything can happen.
5. The autopsy of the two hacks
Appendix A. Ressources
Table of contents