Hackers Rev Up for Weekend Attack

An international hacking contest scheduled to begin this weekend could disrupt the Internet and cause headaches for organizations worldwide, warn security consultants with Internet Security Systems.

The contest, known as the Defacers Challenge, awards points to malicious hackers who successfully compromise an organization's Web server and deface its Web pages.

Contest Rules

ISS became aware of the contest last week while monitoring Web sites and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels frequented by malicious hackers who specialize in defacement, according to Peter Allor, manager of X-Force Threat Intelligence Services at ISS.

Rather than focusing on the amount of defacement, the Defacers Challenge is set up to reward the skill of malicious hackers who can compromise sites. The contest targets servers running nonstandard or less frequently used operating systems like the Apple Macintosh and such Unix variants as IBM AIX and Hewlett-Packard HP-UX.

Contest organizers have even set up a Web site that outlines the rules of the game. It provides a point system for compromised machines and spells out guidelines for what counts as valid defacement. Windows servers count for 1 point, while HP-UX and Macintosh servers count for 5.

The objective is to deface 6000 Web sites. Organizers are offering a prize of free Web site hosting to the malicious hacker who can reach that goal first or accumulate the greatest number of Web sites in trying to do so, according to information on the site.

The Defacers Challenge is scheduled to begin on July 6 and last for 6 hours, though information on the exact time of the contest has not yet been released, Allor said.

ISS does not know which hacker or group of malicious hackers is responsible for organizing the challenge.

Caution Urged

Though the contest and Web page may be a joke, ISS has noticed an increase in reconnaissance and probing scans of Web sites that may be connected to the contest, Allor says.

Malicious hackers may be scouting out high-value systems, or even compromising them in advance so they'll be easy to deface once the contest begins, he says.

ISS recommends that organizations deactivate unneeded public-facing Web servers and turn off any unnecessary services on other Web servers. In addition, Webmasters should apply any necessary software patches to potentially vulnerable machines, Allor says.

Recently disclosed software vulnerabilities that have not yet been patched are attractive targets for hackers, he adds.