Hacked!

If you ride a motorcycle, you know that it’s not “if you fall down,” but “when you fall down.” As a rider, you can’t prevent the inevitable, but you can learn what to do in a crash, and learn what to do to minimize your own injuries.

John R. S. Mascio

Friday, November 15th, 2002

Share This:

1. I’ve been hacked! Now what?

Having a computer connected to the Internet is like riding a motorcycle. Eventually, you’re going to get hacked. So, if you’ve been hacked, or if you think you’ve been hacked, here’s what to do: don’t panic.

Next, you have a simple decision to make, but with not so simple consequences: do you want to gather information for possible prosecution? Or, do you just want to secure your machine and get back to work?

Preparing for prosecution entails quite a bit of time and effort. If you decide to follow this course, see the sidebar “Security Related URLS.” You should also consult competent legal counsel to learn your rights and options.

Security Related URLs

Security and incident response http://www.ciac.org/ciac

Computer forensics and preservation of evidence, http://www.forensics-intl.com/info.html

Contacting law enforcement, http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm

Vulnerabilities and good security practice, http://www.securityfocus.com

Firewalls and Internet Security: Repelling the Wily Hacker by William R. Cheswick and Steven M. Bellovin, http://www.wilyhacker.com

SANS Institute: Information Security Reading Room, http://rr.sans.org

BigAdmin System Administration Portal, http://www.sun.com/bigadmin

CERT,

Please log in to view this content.

Not Yet a Member?