Hacker takes Ireland offline

[InfoSec News <isn () C4I ORG>]

http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3EUP7Q0CC&live=true&useoverridetemplate=ZZZ99ZVV70C&tagid=ZZZAFZAVA0C&subheading=europe

By John Murray-Brown in Dublin
Published: August 17 2000 18:06GMT
Last Updated: August 18 2000 03:09GMT

Thousands of Irish computer users were unable to access the internet
on Thursday, after the country's largest service provider had to issue
new passwords after an overnight hacker attacked the system.

A spokesman for Eircom, the former state telephone monopoly, which
operates Eircom Net and Indigo with a total of 240,000 customers, said
the passwords were being changed as a precautionary measure to prevent
the hacker gaining access to emails and websites.

The incident is the first known case of a security breach in Ireland
and will add to public concerns about the privacy and confidentiality
of the internet.

Eircom put warning notices on its own website requesting clients to
ring a help line for new passwords. The company emphasised that there
was no evidence of interference.

"The bottom line is these scares are bad for business and bad for
consumer confidence, and will impede the growth of the internet," said
Frank Cronin, chief executive of the Irish Internet Association. "The
only thing that can be said is that Eircom has acted very promptly."

Aidan Doyle, managing director of E-com Internet, a Dublin consultant,
expressed the frustration of many internet users at yesterday's
incident. "Here we go again. Another hacker has got into another ISP
system, it just seems to be so simple. It happens every other week."

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