The Threatened Net : How the Web Became a Perilous Place

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910149758803321
• Autore: Timberg Craig
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: New York : , : Diversion Publishing Corp., , 2015; ©2015
• ISBN: 9781682301364; 1682301362
• Edizione: [1st ed.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (78 pages)
• Altri autori (Persone): The Washington PostThe Washington
• Disciplina: 004.678
• Soggetti: Computer security; Internet - History
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Nota di contenuto: The Threatened Net: How the Web Became a Perilous Place -- Copyright -- Introduction -- A flaw in the design: The Internet’s founders saw its promise but didn’t foresee users attacking one another -- Bracing for nuclear war -- The first ‘killer app’ -- ‘It’s kind of like safe sex’ -- Concerns from the NSA -- ‘Operation Looking Glass’ -- A network is born -- Old flaws, new dangers -- The Long Life of a Quick ‘Fix’: Internet protocol from 1989 leaves data vulnerable to hijackers -- The honor system -- Pakistan crashes YouTube -- ‘Knee-deep in alligators’ -- Networks with no maps -- Unstoppable momentum -- ‘No one was buying’ -- A disaster foretold — and ignored: LOpht’s warnings about the Internet drew notice but little action -- Geek heaven in a Boston loft -- Exposing bugs for all to see -- Bill Gates rides ‘Tidal Wave’ -- 700 users, 1 dumb password -- A close call at the NSA -- Dropping the ax -- ‘Hackers are like water’ -- The rise of the black hats -- Hacks on the highway: Automakers rush to add wireless features, leaving our cars open to hackers -- The drive-by hack -- Taking over from far away
• Sommario/riassunto: The Internet can appear to be elegantly designed, but as The Washington Post's Craig Timberg demonstrated in his illuminating series "Net of Insecurity," the network is much more an assemblage of kludges-more Frankenstein than Ferrari-that endure because they ; work, or at least work well enough.The defects hackers use often are well-known and ancient in technological terms, surviving only because of an industry-wide penchant for patching over problems rather than replacing the rot - and because Washington largely shrugged. At critical moments in the development of the Internet, some of the country's smartest minds warned leaders at the Pentagon and in Congress, but were largely ignored.The consequences now play out across cyberspace every second of every day, as hackers exploit old, poorly protected systems to scam, steal, and spy on a scale never before possible.Today, hundreds of billions of dollars are spent on computer security and the danger posed by hackers seems to grow worse each year, threatening banks, retailers, government agencies, a Hollywood studio and, experts worry, critical mechanical systems in dams, power plants, and aircraft.Many have tried to write about the origins of the Internet. But never before has a writer so thoroughly elucidated the history of the security of the Internet-and why basic flaws in its design continue to leave this country wide open to digital threats.