New Hacker Tools Target Network Weaknesses for Unauthorized Access

Well, thanks to lax security by vendors and network administrators, not to mention an underground network of devious and talented souls churning out user-friendly cracking tools, it's never been easier. The latest such tool to hit the Internet is called SMBRelay, . . . Well, thanks to lax security by vendors and network administrators, not to mention an underground network of devious and talented souls churning out user-friendly cracking tools, it's never been easier. The latest such tool to hit the Internet is called SMBRelay, and it exploits a well-known flaw in Microsoft Corp.'s Windows NT and Windows 2000 software that enables an attacker to hijack NetBIOS connections.

Gaining unauthorized access to networks used to be a game that only a small handful of gifted crackers with a lot of time on their hands could play. They would laboriously comb the Internet for vulnerable machines, poke and prod until they found a way in, and then execute whatever attack they had in mind.

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